Honorable mention in the online WSJ. As this comes from a JAVA application, I don't know if the same info appears in the print edition...
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Checkup: Cardiopulmonary Bypass Risks By Chris Adams
The condition: Complications related to cardiopulmonary bypass procedures.
What's interesting about the condition: Nearly 600,000 patients undergo cardiopulmonary bypass procedures each year, and with each one there is a risk of death, heart attack, or stroke when tissues are starved of oxygen. During the procedure, blood is diverted outside a patient's body through the cardiopulmonary bypass machine. Typically, the machine supports a patient during coronary artery bypass graft surgery or other forms of open-heart surgery.
Pexelizumab/Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Procter & Gamble (Phase III)
Medical Benefit: Pexelizumab, a humanized antibody, binds to certain targets in the immune system, reducing the harm that can occur when the heart is stopped. It's being tested in a 3,000-person trial of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft procedures, and also is being studied for use in heart attack patients.
Company Benefit: Tiny Alexion has no drugs on the market now, although two -- including Pexelizumab -- are in late-stage development. Analyst Thomas Shrader of Gerard Klauer Mattison says the drug could eventually hit sales of $300 million to $400 million a year. The drug is being co-developed by consumer products giant P&G.
Timing: The company hopes to complete enrollment in its Phase III trial by mid-year, meaning an application could be submitted to the FDA by early next year with approval possibly in early 2005. |
