Originally published February 26 2006
Two new Glaxo drugs receive approval
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
GlaxoSmithKline's new cancer drug, Hycamtin, and a diabetes drug, Avandaryl, received regulatory approvals recently; the former in Europe, the latter in the U.S.
GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK.L: Quote, Profile, Research) continued its roll-out of new products on Wednesday, winning fresh regulatory approvals for two niche treatments to fight diabetes and cancer.
Europe's biggest drug maker said it was launching Avandaryl, a two-in-one diabetes pill, in the United States and had been given a green light in Europe to market Hycamtin -- already used to fight ovarian tumors -- as a treatment for lung cancer.
Both approvals had been expected, and neither drug is viewed by analysts as a blockbuster, but Glaxo said it showed the company's ability to deliver on its pipeline.
"We feel like we've had quite a good few weeks," said Andrew Witty, Glaxo's head of pharmaceuticals in Europe, who noted an injectable form of the brittle bone drug Boniva and Arranon for leukemia had also been launched this month.
"A lot of these products are not necessarily going to be the biggest products around, but they deliver some really important medical advances for patients," he told Reuters.
Avandaryl, which combines Glaxo's popular Avandia medicine and a member of an older class of treatment called sulphonylureas, had originally been slated for launch at the beginning of 2005.
But U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance was delayed by manufacturing problems at the company's Cidra plant in Puerto Rico, where the product is manufactured.
Avandaryl is Glaxo's second combination diabetes medicine, following on the heels of Avandamet -- which is a mixture of Avandia and metformin -- and management hopes it will consolidate the group's position as a leader in diabetes.
All three drugs are aimed at people with type 2 or adult-onset diabetes, which occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin or does not respond properly to its own natural insulin.
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