Sleep quality drug among Aventis pipeline products
A compound that promotes the quality of people's sleep, rather than just getting them off to sleep, is one of four products now in late-stage development by Aventis. Five other products will be filed with authorities in the EU and US this year.
Compound 100,907 is a selective serotonin (5-HT2a) antagonist. It enhances
restorative slow-wave sleep, reduces the amount of time awake after sleep
onset and increases total sleep time. It is now entering phase IIb trials.
Three other products now entering phase II or III trials were described
by Aventis chief operating officer Richard Markham at a press conference
in London last week. Teriflunomide is an orally active immunomodulator
that blocks pyrimidine synthesis. Phase III trials in multiple sclerosis
have now started and the product could be the first oral treatment for
MS on the market. Compound 0673 is a direct factor Xa inhibitor that
has completed phase II trials in acute coronary syndrome and non-ST-elevated
myocardial infarction. Compound 109,881 is a taxoid anticancer agent
now being tested in metastatic breast cancer.
Aventis will seek marketing approval from European authorities for four
products this year. Apidra is a rapid-acting insulin analogue with a
more rapid onset and shorter
duration of action than regular human insulin. It will complement Lantus
(insulin glargine), a long-acting insulin recently launched by Aventis.
Approval will also be sought for Opticlik, a reusable insulin pen device.
Menactra is a conjugate meningitis vaccine targeting meningococcal meningitis.
The submission will cover patients aged 2–55 years. Genasense (oblimersen
sodium) is an anticancer agent targeted at Bcl-2, a critical protein
in apoptosis (cell death). A submission for malignant melanoma is planned
for Europe and the product is already receiving a fast-track review from
the US Food and Drug Administration. Sculptra is an injectable poly-L-lactic
acid agent that corrects skin soft tissue defects associated with facial
lipoatrophy. It is aimed at the cosmetic surgery market and Mr Markham
dubbed it “the face-lift in a bottle”. Alvesco (ciclesonide),
an inhaled corticosteroid (PJ, 11 October 2003, p487), will only be filed
for in the US.
Aventis has a further 90 new chemical entities and vaccines in development,
33 of which are still at the preclincal stage. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal