Biotherapeutics News for March 2013

Biotherapeutics News Archive

Fresh hope for thousands of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) sufferers who cannot tolerate the most common treatment for this debilitating disease Fresh hope for thousands of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) sufferers who cannot tolerate the most common treatment for this debilitating disease

Data published today in The Lancet show that over 50% of RA patients can achieve low disease activity or remission with RoActemra, compared to under 20% of those treated with the most widely prescribed anti-TNF Humira when neither drug is combined with methotrexate (51.5% vs. 19.8%, assessed by DAS28 =3.2*). The study exposed a wealth of data indicating the superiority of RoActemra over Humira, with almost four times as many patients achieving disease remission with RoActemra alone, compared to Humira alone (39.9% vs. 10.5%, assessed by DAS28 <2.6*) and almost twice as many patients achieve a 70% improvement in the signs and symptoms of their disease (32.5% vs. 17.9%, assessed by ACR70**).

Marinomed´s Antiviral Nasal Spray Approved For Use In Canada Marinomed´s Antiviral Nasal Spray Approved For Use In Canada

An innovative nasal spray that has been proven clinically effective against respiratory viruses has now been authorized for the Canadian market. The product, which was developed by the Viennese biotech company Marinomed, reduces the reproduction and spread of viruses on the nasal mucosa and is based on Marinomed's proprietary technology platform Mavirex®. Based on the expected market success of the nasal spray, one major international pharmaceutical concern has already decided to market the product in the fall.