Biochem Pharma Granted European Composition of Matter Patent on 3TC.LAVAL, Quebec--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 22, 1996--BioChem Pharma Inc. (TSE See Tokyo Stock Exchange. TSE 1. See Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). 2. See Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE). , ME:BCH BCH Beach BCH Banco Central de Honduras BCH Boot Console Handler BCH Boulder Community Hospital (Boulder, CO, USA) BCH Broadcast Channel BCH Belfast City Hospital BCH Banco Central-Hispano NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :BCHXF) today announced that it has received notification from the European Patent Office that its application claiming invention of substituted 1,3-oxathiolanes with antiviral properties, covering 3TC(R) (lamivudine), has been issued. The European Patent Office covers 14 countries, including all major markets within the European Union. According to European patent laws, this granted patent provides protection for 3TC(R) and lamivudine until at least the year 2010. 3TC(R) was approved for commercialization by the United States Food and Drug Administration United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), n.pr a unit of the Public Health Service created to protect the health of the nation against impure and unsafe foods, drugs, and cosmetics. in November 1995 and in Canada, by the Health Protection Branch, in December 1995 as a first line therapy for use in combination with AZT AZT or zidovudine (zīdō`vy  dēn'), drug used to treat patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS; also called for the treatment of HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. infection/ AIDS. 3TC(R) has since been approved in Switzerland and Australia and, in April, the European Union's Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products (CPMP CPMP Committee for Proprietary Medicinal ProductsCPMP Core-Plus Mathematics Project CPMP Crew Procedures Management Plan (NASA) CPMP Canadian Project Management Professional CPMP Corporate Planning and Management Practices ) voted in favor of recommending approval of 3TC(R). Additional regulatory approvals have been filed and are being sought elsewhere around the world. Under the terms of a license agreement signed between BioChem Pharma and Glaxo (now Glaxo Wellcome) in 1990, BioChem receives royalties based on sales of 3TC(R). The same terms will apply to sales of lamivudine when and if it is approved for sale. Lamivudine is currently in Phase III clinical trials worldwide for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B infection. Under the terms of the agreement, Glaxo Wellcome has the right to develop, manufacture and sell 3TC(R) and lamivudine worldwide subject to special arrangements in North America. An equally-owned Glaxo Wellcome BioChem partnership is currently commercializing 3TC(R) in Canada. In the United States, Glaxo Wellcome Inc. is commercializing 3TC(R), under the brand name Epivir(TM), and will be responsible for seeking regulatory approval and commercializing lamivudine. BioChem Pharma is an international biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the research, development and commercialization of innovative products for the prevention, detection and treatment of human diseases. The Company's shares are traded on the Montreal and Toronto Stock exchanges (BCH) and on NASDAQ (BCHXF). CONTACT: BioChem Pharma Inc. Christine Lennon, 514/978-7771 |
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