ARNX--positive news from California
<< Aronex's Nyotran Anti-Fungal Drug Safe, Potent, Key Study Says
San Francisco, California, Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Aronex Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s experimental anti-fungal drug appeared to fight tough infections as well as a commonly used generic drug, and may pose less risk of kidney problems, new research suggests.
Data from a 538-patient study indicate that the drug, Nyotran, works to fight dangerous fungal infections that mainly strike people who have had their immune systems damaged by cancer treatment or disease. The two drugs had similar efficacy against fungal infection, but patients on Nyotran had significantly fewer kidney problems than patients taking a standard anti-fungal drug called Amphotericin B. ''In this study, Nyotran was as effective in therapeutic terms,'' said Anthony Williams, the Aronex official who presented the data. ''Despite slightly higher infusion-related problems, it caused considerably less (kidney) toxicity.''
The data was presented during a special session on the opening day of the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, being held this week in San Francisco. The so-called ''late-breaker'' session highlights a handful of studies that conference organizers deemed particularly important.
The data could give a boost to the money-losing company, which announced after markets closed on Friday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rejected its bid to sell a leukemia drug that would have become its first drug on U.S. markets.
Aronex shares rose 1/8 to 4 5/8 Friday, down about 35 percent since Aronex disclosed potential FDA problems for the leukemia treatment, called Atragen.
Nyotran is a reformulated version of a commonly used generic drug called nystatin. Scientists at Aronex wrapped nystatin, a topical treatment, in a fatty capsule called a liposome which buffers side effects and allows Nyotran to be given intravenously. Aronex has said it plans to file an application for government approval of Nyotran this year.
Aronex has a licensing agreement for Nyotran with Abbott Laboratories valued at as much as $40 million. If approved, the drug would also compete against new liposomal anti-fungals such as Gilead Sciences Inc.'s Ambisome, and Liposome Co.'s Abelcet.
These more expensive drugs are designed to be easier to tolerate and have fewer risky side effects than Amphotericin B, which was introduced in the 1960s and has been the standard drug for fighting fungal infections. Both Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc. sell versions of Amphotericin B.
Based in the Houston suburb of The Woodlands, Aronex was formed in a 1995 three-way merger of Argus Pharmaceuticals Inc., Triplex Pharmaceutical Corp., and Oncologix Inc.>>
quote.bloomberg.com
|
