Anthony, Page 12 - 1997 annual report:
Pfizer expects to add to it's cardiovascular portfolio with regulatory filings in early 1998 for dofetilide ( tikosyn), a new treatment for atrial fibrillation (af). More than 10 million patients worldwide suffer from AF. Because AF can lead to the formation of blood clots, patients with AF run a fivefold increased risk of stroke. Symptoms of AF include chronic fatigue, palpitations, anxiety, shortness of breath, and poor exercise tolerance. Treatment cost for AF in the United States alone amount to nearly $8 billion.
Dofelitide is the first medicine that specifically targets AF.It blocks the outflow of potassium in one, and only one, ion channel in the heart, thereby delaying the heart's refractory period and reducing the opportunity for arrhythmias. In a large, well-controlled U.S. clinical trial, two thirds of atrial fibrillation patients maintained on treatment with dofelitide remained in normal cardiac rhythm for a full year compared with only one quarter of patients treated with placebo. As a result, the product relieves the debilitating symptoms of AF and improves patients overall quality of life. Because of it's exquisite selectivity, dofelitide does not affect heart rate or depress cardiac pump function, and it possesses a very good toleration profile.
On page 27 of the same report it shows Tikosyn as already being under regulatory review. Therefore I have to assume they filed very early this year. Hope this helps. MarkC. |
