To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: Ethyol Approved for Marketing in Canada URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/7E9E.htm Doctor's Guide April 30, 1996
WEST CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., April 30, 1996 -- U.S. Bioscience Inc. (AMEX:UBS) and Eli Lilly Canada announced that the new cytoprotective drug, Ethyol(R) (amifostine), has been cleared for marketing in Canada. Eli Lilly Canada is U.S. Bioscience's exclusive distributor of Ethyol in Canada. The Canadian indication for Ethyol is for use as a cytoprotective agent against the cumulative renal toxicities associated with cisplatin and the hematological toxicities associated with cyclophosphamide as well as platinum anticancer agents such as carboplatin and cisplatin in patients with advanced solid tumors of non-germ cell origin. Ethyol is expected to be available in Canada through Eli Lilly Canada later this quarter. This approval closely follows marketing clearance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use of Ethyol in patients with advanced ovarian cancer or non-small cell lung cancer for the reduction of cumulative kidney damage associated with repeated administration of cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Ethyol was launched in the United States this month under a marketing and distribution agreement in which ALZA Corporation has exclusive rights to market the product in the United States for five years and will be responsible for sales and marketing; the U.S. Bioscience sales force will co-promote the product with ALZA. Also Ethyol has recently been cleared for marketing in Mexico and South Africa, where an affiliate of Schering-Plough has distribution rights. Through a series of marketing alliances, with ALZA, Schering-Plough and Eli Lilly, U.S. Bioscience has now achieved commercial distribution of Ethyol in all of North American, most major countries in Europe and selected countries in South America. "These approvals underscore the growing global recognition that Ethyol has an important role to play in the treatment of patients undergoing chemotherapy," said Philip S. Schein, M.D., chairman and CEO of U.S. Bioscience Inc. Chemotherapy agents are not selective in their effects and can damage or destroy healthy tissue because of their inability to discriminate between cancer and normal cells. Ethyol, representative of a new class of drugs, cytoprotective agents, is being further investigated by U.S. Bioscience, Eli Lilly Canada, Schering-Plough and ALZA to evaluate its protective effects against a broad range of toxicities associated with other chemotherapy drugs and radiotherapy regimens used in the treatment of a number of cancers. Under terms of the agreement, Eli Lilly Canada has marketing rights in Canada for five years to Ethyol, as well as to two other commercially available U.S. Bioscience products, Hexalen(R) (altretamine), a product approved for first-line and salvage treatment of ovarian cancer, and NeuTrexin(R) (trimetrexate glucuronate) for treatment of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. Under certain circumstances Eli Lilly Canada will have the right to extend the agreement for an additional five years. The approval of Ethyol results in a milestone payment to U.S. Bioscience. U.S. Bioscience Inc., based in West Conshohocken, is a pharmaceutical company specializing in the development and commercialization of products for patients with cancer and AIDS. Ethyol represents the company's third product which has received FDA clearance for marketing. Eli Lilly Canada is an affiliate of Eli Lilly and Company, a global research-based pharmaceutical corporation that is working with customers worldwide to help ensure that diseases are prevented, managed, and cured with maximum benefit and minimum cost to patients and society. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.