A new drug for treating intermittent claudication, cilostazol, is to be launched soon.
Licensing approval in the UK for Pletal (cilostazol 100mg) tablets was given on March 30 and the manufacturer, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Europe, told The Journal on March 31 that it would be launching the product in a few months.
The company says that cilostazol is a phosphodiesterase III inhibitor. While its precise mechanism of action is not known, it is thought that it inhibits platelet aggregation and causes vasodilatation by phosphodiesterase III inhibition, suppression of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) degradation and increasing levels of cAMP in platelets and blood cells. The company comments that cilostazol "targets multiple processes related to peripheral circulation which may work together to improve blood flow in the lower extremities."
Intermittent claudication, a peripheral vascular disease, is characterised by symptoms of sudden, crippling pain in the leg muscles. It is caused by an inadequacy of blood supply.