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Biotech / Medical : MGI Pharma MOGN New patents, anti cancer -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Russian Bear who wrote (876)	3/31/1998 5:58:00 PM
From: WTDEC	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 1826

Hello Bear. Here is some encouraging news for those folks who risk salivary gland damage when undergoing radiation therapy. This is not the best news for MOGN, however. I presume it will take some time to get this approved, etc. and I'm sure that there will still be a big role for Salagen. Regards, Walter ---------------------------------- Alza: Ethyol Protects Salivary Glands In Radiation Patients By OTESA MIDDLETON Dow Jones Newswires NEW ORLEANS -- A drug created to protect U.S. troops from nuclear fallout may protect the salivary glands of cancer patients receiving radiation for thyroid cancer. Ethyol, which is marketed in the U.S. by Alza Corp. (AZA), already is approved as a treatment to protect the kidney in patients receiving chemotherapy for nonsmall-cell lung and ovarian cancers. According to IMS America, a health-care information company, Ethyol and another form of the drug, Ethyol RT, combined for sales of $15.3 million last year. Alza presented information on the drug's other protective qualities here Tuesday at the American Association for Cancer Research's annual meeting. The study looked at 50 patients with thyroid cancer. When treated with radiation, patients often experience salivary gland impairment. This causes severe dry mouth, said Dr. Samuel Saks, Alza's senior vice president of medical affairs. "This results in tooth loss, infection of the mouth and eating problems," Saks said. Alza's study gave half of the patients Ethyol prior to radiation. The other half got a placebo. Changes in the salivary gland function were assessed after three months. In the placebo group, the patients showed a 40% reduction in salivary gland function. The patients who received Ethyol showed no significant decrease in salivary gland function. "This drug has a wide range of uses," Saks said. Alza entered an agreement with U.S. Bioscience Inc. (UBS) in 1995 to market Ethyol for five years, with the option to extend the deal for an additional year. The drug is marketed in European markets by an affiliate of Schering-Plough Corp. (SGP). The company is studying Ethyol's effectiveness in protecting patients' nerves when taking Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s (BMY) Taxol, a chemotherapy drug. Paul Brook, an analyst who follows Alza for Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, called Ethyol a "reasonably important drug" to the company. Other analysts agreed the company is eager to have Ethyol approved for other uses before its marketing rights expire. -Otesa Middleton; 202-862-6654