JOINT TESTS OF DRUGS ANNOUNCED BY FIRMS.Byline: Ben Sullivan Daily News Staff Writer A San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. drug maker said Thursday that it and Thousand Oaks-based Amgen Inc. will begin jointly testing two of their products to see if the combination can extend the lives of some cancer and infectious disease Infectious disease A pathological condition spread among biological species. Infectious diseases, although varied in their effects, are always associated with viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, multicellular parasites and aberrant proteins known as prions. patients. Maxim Pharmaceuticals said it will begin a clinical study of its immunity-protecting drug Maxamine in combination with Agmen's Infergen. Infergen is a form of interferon that was approved by the Food and Drug Administration last fall for the treatment of Hepatitis C Hepatitis C Definition Hepatitis C is a form of liver inflammation that causes primarily a long-lasting (chronic) disease. Acute (newly developed) hepatitis C is rarely observed as the early disease is generally quite mild. . Maxamine is based on the body's natural histamine histamine (hĭs`təmēn'), organic compound derived in the body from the amino acid histidine by the removal of a carboxyl group (COOH). molecule and inhibits the production and release of free oxygen radicals in the body which otherwise can damage the body's immune system immune system Cells, cell products, organs, and structures of the body involved in the detection and destruction of foreign invaders, such as bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells. Immunity is based on the system's ability to launch a defense against such invaders. . It is currently being tested in Europe for the treatment of certain forms of cancer, and of Hepatitis C. If the combination trials prove successful, it could significantly widen the market for Infergen. The drug currently has expected annual sales of less than $200 million. Amgen's other two drugs, Epogen and Neupogen each generate roughly $1 billion a year in sales. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion