The calcineurin inhibitor tacrolimus is an immunosuppressive drug frequently used to prevent transplant rejection in solid organ transplant patients. Tacrolimus acts by suppressing T-cell activity within and around the transplanted organ. However, this drug also inhibits T-cell function in the skin, contributing to a high incidence of skin cancer among transplant recipients.
Veloxis Pharmaceuticals A/S’ board chairman, Michael Heffernan, said investors will find out in “the next four weeks” more details related to the $1.3 billion takeover by Tokyo-based Asahi Kasei Corp., which gets control of Envarsus XR, an improved formulation of tacrolimus for prophylaxis of organ rejection in kidney transplant patients converted from tacrolimus and for use in de novo kidney transplant patients.