Does anyone know the extent to which NKTR has patents on Pegylation Technology? Any tie in to VRTX HCV tx?
7:06AM Vertex Pharm says clinical investigators will report 24 of 26 patients who received telaprevir in two early-stage clinical trials had undetectable HCV (VRTX) 34.57 : Co announces researchers will present new data this week suggesting that both wild-type hepatitis C virus and resistant variants were suppressed in patients when pegylated interferon was added to telaprevir, co's investigational hepatitis C virus protease inhibitor, in a Phase 1b clinical study. In addition, clinical investigators will report that 24 of 26 patients who received telaprevir in two early-stage clinical trials had undetectable H.C.V R.N.A after receiving follow-on combination therapy with peg-IFN and ribavirin through 24 weeks of treatment, a therapeutic regimen following the conclusion of the clinical trials. Clinical investigators will also report that some of these patients have stopped therapy, and that a proportion of them continued to have undetectable HCV RNA after stopping therapy.
From NKTR PR: nektar.com
About Nektar Advanced PEGylation Technology
Nektar Advanced PEGylation has the potential to improve the safety and efficacy of therapeutic agents by increasing drug circulation time in the bloodstream, decreasing immunogenicity and dosing frequency, increasing bioavailability and improving drug solubility and stability. It is based on the use of non-toxic polyethylene glycol (PEG) polymers, which can be attached to most major drug classes, including proteins, peptides, antibody fragments, small molecules, and other drugs and is used in eight approved products in the U.S. and/or Europe today. Two other products using Nektar Advanced PEGylation have been filed for approval by Nektar partners in both the U.S. and the European Union, including UCB's Cimzia(TM) for Crohn's Disease. |
