DOR BioPharma Announces Named Patient Access Program for orBec(R) in Singapore and Malaysia in Collaboration With Steward Cross Pte Ltd
Friday July 18, 7:00 am ET
EWING, NJ--(MARKET WIRE)--Jul 18, 2008 -- DOR BioPharma, Inc. (OTC BB:DORB.OB - News) ("DOR" or the "Company"), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company developing products to treat life-threatening side effects of cancer treatments and serious gastrointestinal diseases, and vaccines against certain bioterrorism agents, announced today that it has entered into a collaboration with Steward Cross Pte Ltd (Steward Cross), a specialty pharmaceutical company based in Singapore, under which Steward Cross will act as DOR's Sponsor with regard to the administration of a Named Patient Access Program (NPAP) for orBec® to patients suffering from acute gastrointestinal Graft-versus-Host disease (GI GVHD) in Singapore and Malaysia
The NPAP is a compassionate use drug supply program administered by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) of Singapore and Drug Control Authority (DCA) of Malaysia under which medical practitioners can legally supply investigational drugs to their patients who qualify. Under this program, investigational drugs can be administered to patients who are suffering from serious illnesses until the drug is approved by the HSA and DCA. Steward Cross and DOR will share revenues generated by sales of orBec® through the NPAP. DOR will manufacture and supply orBec® to Steward Cross, while Steward Cross will be responsible for all distribution costs in Singapore and Malaysia.
"We are very pleased to be working with DOR BioPharma on the NPAP for orBec®," said Grace Chen, Managing Director of Steward Cross. "We have already had a number of requests for orBec® from transplant physicians who have seen the data that has been generated and published. There is an obvious need for a new drug to treat acute GI GVHD as a result of allogeneic bone marrow/stem cell transplantation here in Singapore. We are glad that Singaporean and Malaysian patients will have access to orBec®, the first directed therapy for patients suffering from GI GVHD."
"We are pleased with the interest that Singaporean transplant physicians have expressed in orBec® and are looking forward to working closely with Steward Cross to administer this important program," stated Christopher J. Schaber, PhD, President and CEO of DOR. "We now have named patient access programs in place in Australia, Europe, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and South Korea. While we work to complete orBec®'s clinical development, we are continuing our worldwide strategy of making it available to patients who need it wherever possible."
About Steward Cross Pte Ltd
Steward Cross is a Singapore home-grown pharmaceutical company specializing in oncology and hematology therapeutic segments. Established since 1996, the company provides a full range of pharmaceutical services to R&D based companies from Europe, USA, Japan, China and Australia. Steward Cross has a strong presence in the field of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in Singapore and Malaysia through its active marketing of GCSFs and HSCT-conditioning agents.
Steward Cross' mission is to uphold the principle of good stewardship in the industry. In line with its mission, the company is focused on promoting drugs of high therapeutic value, that is, those which positively impact patients' survival and quality of life. The present collaboration with DOR to avail orBec® to transplant physicians and their patients in Singapore and Malaysia is a significant step forward for Steward Cross in fulfilling its ongoing mission. |
