GSK and Millennium Announce Integrilin(reg) (Eptifibatide) Injection Licensing For Europe
INTEGRILIN is the US market-leading therapy in a class of blood-clot inhibitors known as glycoprotein (GP) IIb-IIIa inhibitors. Launched in Europe in 1999 and in the U.S. in 1998, INTEGRILIN is used to treat patients with unstable angina and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, two closely related conditions known as acute coronary syndromes (ACS), which result in more than 2.5 million hospitalisations annually in the U.S. and Europe combined.
GSK will actively commercialize INTEGRILIN in Europe upon the approved transfer of marketing authorizations, which is anticipated to be complete by December 2004. The execution of this agreement between Millennium and GSK for INTEGRILIN follows its acquisition of the rights to market the product in Europe from its partner Schering Plough Corporation (NYSE: SGP), and Schering Plough will continue to promote INTEGRILIN in Europe until the transfer is complete.
Schering-Plough will continue to co-promote INTEGRILIN with Millennium in the U.S. and sell the product in all other territories outside Europe, and will continue to pay Millennium royalties on INTEGRILIN sales outside of the U.S. and Europe. No financial details of the agreement for the return of the European rights from Schering Plough to commercialize INTEGRILIN were disclosed.
"We are delighted by the commitment and strength that GSK brings to capture the full market potential of INTEGRILIN in this territory," said Kenneth Bate, chief financial officer and head of commercial operations, Millennium. "This agreement is representative of our strategy to fully maximize the potential of our products outside of the U.S. by working with leading pharmaceutical companies which have outstanding global commercialization strength."
"This is an exciting opportunity for GSK to strengthen its cardiovascular critical care portfolio and to establish GSK presence in the rapidly growing hospital acute care market in Europe," said Andrew Witty, President, GSK Pharmaceuticals Europe. "Based on guidelines from the European Society of Cardiology that strongly recommend the use of GP IIb-IIIa inhibitors in ACS patients, we believe that appropriate use of INTEGRILIN will improve the quality of care and ultimately save lives in this patient population. Given the strong market leadership role that INTEGRILIN holds in the US, we believe that we have the potential to establish INTEGRILIN as a foundation of care in treating ACS patients in Europe."
About INTEGRILIN
In response to an injured coronary artery, blood cells, known as platelets, clump and cause clots to block blood flow to the heart muscle, which in turn, can lead to heart attacks. INTEGRILIN� (eptifibatide) Injection breaks apart and prevents these clots by blocking the GP IIb-IIIa receptors expressed on the platelet surface. INTEGRILIN prevents myocardial infarction (MI) in patients presenting with unstable angina and non Q-Wave myocardial infarction. INTEGRILIN also helps prevent further clot formation and growth, reducing existing coronary obstruction. Importantly, the effects of INTEGRILIN are specific to platelets, avoiding interference with other normal cardiovascular processes, and the effects can be reversed upon INTEGRILIN discontinuation when no longer needed.
INTEGRILIN is indicated for the treatment of patients with acute coronary syndrome (unstable angina/non-ST-segment myocardial infarction), including patients who are to be managed medically and those undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).
It is also indicated in the US for the treatment of patients at time of PCI, including in patients undergoing intracoronary stenting.
About GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, and is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. GSK is also a leader in bringing HIV/AIDS treatments to patients, and provides its antiretrovirals to 63 of the least developed countries and Sub-Saharan Africa at not-for-profit prices. For more information, visit GlaxoSmithKline on the World Wide Web at http://www.gsk.com.
About Millennium
Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading biopharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, Mass., markets VELCADE� (bortezomib) for Injection, a novel cancer product, co-promotes INTEGRILIN� (eptifibatide) Injection, a market-leading cardiovascular product, and has a robust clinical development pipeline of product candidates. The Company's research, development and commercialisation activities are focused in three therapeutic areas: oncology, cardiovascular, and inflammation. By applying its knowledge of the human genome, its understanding of disease mechanisms, and its industrialized drug discovery platform, Millennium is seeking to develop breakthrough products.
GlaxoSmithKline Enquiries:
UK Media enquiries: Martin Sutton (020) 8047 5502
David Mawdsley (020) 8047 5502
Chris Hunter-Ward (020) 8047 5502
European Analyst/Investor enquiries: Duncan Learmouth (020) 8047 5540
Anita Kidgell (020) 8047 5542
Philip Thomson (020) 8047 5543
View drug information on Integrilin.
GSK ºi Mileniului Anunþarea Integrilin (REG) (Eptifibatidã) Injectarea de licenþiere pentru Europa - GSK and Millennium Announce Integrilin(reg) (Eptifibatide) Injection Licensing For Europe - articole medicale engleza - startsanatate