Wednesday April 14 3:38 AM ET
Firm Offers Device To Help Severe Arthritis Patients
By Kathy Fieweger
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Millions of people across the country are taking a new drug called Celebrex
to treat arthritis, but for about 250,000 with the most severe levels of rheumatoid arthritis, even that
will not help.
For them, a new device that removes antibodies from their blood through a dialysis-like process is
now available to help stop at least some of the painful joint inflammation.
''It's a blood filter, and it looks just like you'd expect a blood filter to look,'' said Jay Kranzler, chief
executive of Cypress Bioscience Inc. (Nasdaq:CYPB - news) in an interview.
The Food and Drug Administration approved the filtering device, called Prosorba, last month, and it
is now on the market.
The product is expected to be a boon to San Diego-based Cypress, a turnaround for a company
with historically low revenues and losses.
''I expect this year to have about $10 million in sales, and I expect next year to do substantially
more than that, somewhere close to $40 million,'' Kranzler said.
He expects to earn profits in 2000, at which time regulatory approval in Europe is also expected.
Rheumatoid arthritis, an immune system problem affecting connective tissue, is less common than
another form, called steoarthritis, but more devastating, leaving some even unable to walk. About
2.5 million Americans have this disease, mostly women.
It is often chronic and gets worse over time. About 10 percent of those afflicted, or roughly 250,000
people, do not respond to conventional drug therapy including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory
agents or methotrexate, which is also used to fight cancer, Kranzler said.
Patients use Prosorba once a week for 12 weeks. They go into a hospital blood bank or
dialysis-type center, where they proceed to undergo a process similar to donating platelets. Their
blood is removed, separated and filtered, then reinfused back into their bodies, minus the antibodies
that cause inflammation.
The treatment works for about a year, Kranzler said.
Cypress has sold the filter for another blood use for about 10 years, but only recently launched the
arthritis effort under Kranzler.
The company's partner is Fresenius AG, a German holding company that provides the largest
dialysis service in the United States--Fresenius Medical Care.
Fresenius paid $1.5 million for sales rights to Prosorba and Cypress will get more licensing payments
if sales reach certain levels. |
