NEW YORK (CBS.MW) --Abbott Laboratories and SangStat said they received approval from the FDA to market Gengraf, a lower priced version of cyclosporine, which is used to prevent organ transplant rejection.
Gengraf will compete with Neoral, the leading
version of cyclosporine, which is marketed by
Novartis.Gengraf is interchangeable with Neoral,
Abbott (ABT: news, msgs) and SangStat (SANG:
news, msgs) said.
Cyclosporine is the leading immunosuppressive
drug used to prevent graft rejection in
transplants.Sales of cyclosporine in the U.S. are
about $480 million annually.
Shares of Abbott rose 1 15/16 to 38 15/16 while
shares of SangStat fell 1 13/16 to 29 15/16.
In a press release issued by the companies
Monday, Lisa Kory, executive director of
Transplant Recipients International Organization
Inc. said the new drug will benefit patients since
they have to pay for such medicine for the rest of
their lives.
"Lower-cost, therapeutically equivalent medications
are important options for transplant recipients," Kory said in the statement.
Gengraf has been given a so-called AB rating by the FDA. An AB rating means a product is therapeutically equivalent to or interchangeable with a reference drug. Under state pharmacy and Medicaid laws, an AB rating allows and, in some cases, mandates substitution of the lower-cost generic
drug, Abbott and SangStat said.
Things are looking very good for ABT at the moment...charging ahead with the other big drug boys today.
Holding 02 40 leaps and feeling good about them...in the money today and 20 months to go.
chris |
