Company* (Country; Symbol) |
Product |
Description |
Indication |
Status (Date) |
| | ||||
CANCER | ||||
Axcan Pharma Inc. (Canada; AXCA; TSE:AXP) |
Photofrin |
Photosensitive drug; porfimer sodium; produces toxic oxygen compound when light activated |
High-grade dysplasia associated with Barrett's esophagus |
Canadian authorities approved Photofrin (3/20) |
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BioXell SpA* |
BXL-628 |
Inhibits the growth of prostate cells by impairing the activity of several growth factors |
Benign prostatic hyperplasia |
Company initiated recruitment for a Phase II trial in Italy (3/27) |
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KuDOS Pharmaceuticals Ltd.* (UK) |
Patrin |
4-bromothenylguanine; inhibitsthe enzyme alkylguanine alkyltransferase |
Metastatic melanoma |
Company began a Phase II trial at eight Australian and two UK centers (3/24) |
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Orphan |
Busulfex |
Busulfan injection |
For stem cell or bone marrow transplantation |
The European Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products recommended the approval of Busulfex as a conditioning treatment prior to hematopoietic progenitor stem cell or bone marrow transplantation in adult patients (3/24) |
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Praecis |
Plenaxis |
Abarelix for injectable suspension; gonadotropin- releasing hormone antagonist |
Advanced or metastatic prostate cancer |
Data from a Phase III trial in five European countries showed that the median time to medical castration was significantly shorter for patients treated with Plenaxis, compared to patients treated with Zoladex plus Casodex; also, no patient treated with Plenaxis experienced a testosterone surge (3/12) |
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Viragen Inc. (AMEX:VRA) |
-- |
Natural human alpha interferon |
Melanoma |
South African authorities approved the drug for sale (3/10) |
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CARDIOVASCULAR | ||||
Dyax Corp. |
DX-88 |
Recombinant inhibitor of human plasma kallikrein |
Hereditary or acquired angioedema |
Company completed patient treatment in its European Phase II trial; the compound met its primary endpoint of relief of angioedema symptoms within four hours of treatment (3/13) |
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CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM | ||||
NeuroSearch A/S* (Denmark) and Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH (Germany) |
NS2330 |
Therapeutic compound thatincreases the activity of acetylcholine dopamine and noradrenaline |
Parkinson's disease |
Company began a Phase II trial in Europe (3/3) |
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INFECTION | ||||
Gilead Sciences |
Hepsera |
Adefovir dipivoxil 10 mg |
Hepatitis B |
Company received approval to market Hepsera in the European Union (3/11) |
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PanaMed Corp. (OTC BB: PANA) |
Viro-net |
Immunomodulating drug |
HIV |
Results from an African study showed that all HIV patients tolerated and responded well to the treatment (3/4) |
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Sarawak MediChem Pharmaceuticals Inc.* |
Calanolide A |
A non-nucleoside reversetranscriptase inhibitor |
HIV |
Clinical results showed the therapy increased blood levels of Calanolide in human volunteers (3/4) |
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Trimeris Inc. (TRMS) and F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. (Switzerland) |
Fuzeon |
Enfuvirtide; peptide drug; HIV fusion inhibitor |
HIV |
Phase III data, which supports a European approval application, showed that patients taking Fuzeon and a regimen of anti-HIV drugs had a significantly greater reduction in HIV than those taking the regimen without Fuzeon (3/20) |
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MISCELLANEOUS | ||||
Alizyme plc (UK; LSE:AZM) |
ATL-962 |
A lipase inhibitor |
Obesity |
Company finished rectuitment in a Phase IIb trial of 370 patients in five European countries (3/12**) |
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Notes: | ||||
* Privately held company | ||||
** Denotes the date the item ran in BioWorld International. | ||||
Unless otherwise noted, the stock symbols listed for public companies are on the Nasdaq market. | ||||
AMEX = American Stock Exchange; LSE = London Stock Exchange; OTC BB = Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board; TSE = Toronto Stock Exchange | ||||
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