Pain: on the increase

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Ovation Pharmaceuticals' Sabril recommended by FDA panel despite reports of visual field defect

Ovation Pharmaceuticals has announced that an FDA advisory committee has voted unanimously to recommend Sabril (vigabatrin) for the treatment of two severe forms of epilepsy. If approved, Sabril will be the first FDA-approved monotherapy for infantile spasms. However, low historic uptake in the EU and concerns regarding visual field defects suggest that the drug's commercial prospects are limited.

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Nycomed/Merck: Daxas deal will have limited financial impact

Nycomed and Merck & Co. have agreed to co-promote the novel COPD therapy Daxas, which recently gained a positive recommendation in the EU. While this collaboration boosts Daxas' commercial prospects in several European countries, as well as Canada, the drug is limited by its restricted patient potential.

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Novartis: FDA refusal may relegate Menveo to second-to-market for toddlers

Novartis has announced the US approval of its licensed quadrivalent meningococcal vaccine, Menveo, in children aged two to 10; however, the FDA rejected an application for younger age groups. This represents a major setback for the firm, which is already struggling to gain share in the US meningococcal market due to the dominance of Sanofi Pasteur's competitor Menactra.

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NicOx: FDA approval a step closer for naproxcinod, but marketing partner remains elusive

NicOx has filed a New Drug Application for osteoarthritis treatment naproxcinod to the FDA. While Datamonitor expects a positive decision, the success of the drug will hinge on NicOx obtaining a marketing partner, as the company currently has inadequate resources to commercialize naproxcinod on its own in the competitive and highly genericized US osteoarthritis market.

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NicOx/AstraZeneca: NO-Naproxen announcement stuns partner

Hopes for the leading compound in the CINOD class of arthritis drugs have been dealt a serious blow after it failed to live up to expectations in phase II trials. AstraZeneca may now pull out of its partnership with the drug's developer, NicOx. Although great things had been anticipated for the drug, it now seems highly unlikely that it will challenge the leading COX-II inhibitors.

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NicOx/AstraZeneca: a new class of pain medication

NicOx's HCT 3012 is a new class of analgesic and anti-inflammatory drug, with a superior gastrointestinal safety profile compared to naproxen. With AstraZeneca's backing, this product has the marketing strength to compete with Pharmacia and Merck - who currently dominate the non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs (NSAID) market.

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Multiple Sclerosis: the search for a vaccine continues

There are approximately 250,000 to 350,000 diagnosed cases of multiple sclerosis in the US, yet it is estimated that the actual number of Americans with MS may be even higher. As a new approach to the treatment of MS, vaccines have the potential to be both efficacious and cost effective. But can a vaccine be developed as a viable treatment for MS?

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Multiple sclerosis: new treatments will take on interferons

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Monoclonal antibodies: sales to increase six-fold by 2005

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