Columbia Laboratories Announces Issuance of Patent Covering Drug
Delivery Technology for Use in the Prevention of Sexually Transmitted
Diseases (Friday September 19 9:13 AM EDT)
MIAMI--(BW HealthWire)--Sept. 19, 1997--Columbia Laboratories Inc. (ASE:COB) Friday announced the issuance of
U.S. Patent No. 5,667,492 covering the technology used in its product Advantage 24(tm), which potentiates the activity of
nonoxynol-9 against various organisms which can cause sexually transmitted disease (``STD''), including AIDS, gonorrhea,
chlamydia and trichomonal infections, syphilis and genital herpes.
The Columbia Bioadhesive Delivery System enables Advantage 24 to adhere to the cervix and vaginal epithelium and slowly
release nonoxynol-9 for an extended period for as much as 48 to 72 hours. Since the technology enables the use of relatively
low amounts of nonoxynol-9, irritation to the genital tissue is minimized.
Advantage 24 is currently being tested under an IND filed with the FDA to evaluate its efficacy in the prevention of STD's. In
addition, under the supervision of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Advantage 24 has been
tested for safety in more than 600 women in Europe and Thailand. These studies showed that Advantage 24, unlike many
other anti-STD formulations tested by UNAIDS, was safe even when administered four times a day. Because of these
factors, Advantage 24 is the only product that UNAIDS has selected for testing for the prevention of the heterosexual
transmission of sexually transmitted diseases and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), in approximately 2,000 women.
Advantage 24 is currently marketed in the United States and Canada under several licensing agreements.
Columbia Laboratories Inc. is a U.S.-based international pharmaceutical company, dedicated to the development of women's
prescription and over-the-counter products, including those which help prevent sexually transmitted diseases. Columbia's
products primarily utilize the company's patented bioadhesive delivery system. |
