October 28, 2013 -- Drawbridge Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd (Drawbridge) is pleased to announce that patents arising from PCT/AU2011/00050, entitled “Anaesthetic Formulation” have been granted in the following countries —United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Africa.The company has also received a Notice of Allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for U.S. Patent Application No. 13/574,201.
"Since the company was founded in 2011, it has been building a robust patent portfolio around its lead drug candidate, Phaxan™, for global use in anaesthesia and sedation. The granting of our patent in these countries not only adds significant value to the company, but allows us to take another step forward in our development efforts to bring Phaxan™ to patients who need better treatment options in critical care,” said Dr Anthony Filippis, CEO at Drawbridge Pharmaceuticals.
Propofol is seen as the industry gold standard due to its predictable onset and recovery from anaesthesia and sedation. However, propofol has some significant problems including: the lipid based preparation is easily contaminated and supports bacterial growth; it causes falls in blood pressure, depression of breathing, pain on injection, is incompatible with plastic containers and leads to lipid toxicity.
“The case for the use of Phaxan™ in modern critical care in the OR and ICU is compelling. It is water-soluble, much safer with a wider therapeutic index than propofol, showing the same rapid onset and offset of action, but with none of the lipid issues. No other product on the market has that combination,” said Prof Colin Goodchild, Chief Medical Officer of Drawbridge.
The anaesthesia drugs market in the US is forecast to reach $7 billion by 2015 and the need for a for a new anaesthetic that is both safe and effective continues to grow significantly with more than 80 million general anaesthesia procedures performed annually in the United States and Europe alone.
About Drawbridge Pharmaceuticals
Drawbridge Pharmaceuticals was founded in 2011 and is a privately-held biotechnology company, headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. The company is developing innovative neuroactive steroid compounds for use in critical care situations. Phaxan™ is the lead compound for use as a fast onset and offset intravenous general anaesthetic and sedative.
www.drawbridgepharmaceuticals.com.au
About Phaxan™
Phaxan™ is a novel water based formulation of the neuroactive steroid, alphaxalone. It has a wide therapeutic index and rapid onset and offset of action. The anaesthetic agent in Phaxan™ has been administered in the past as Althesin® when formulated in a different excipient. It was withdrawn in 1984 because of problems with the formulation. Phaxan™ does not have the problems of the Althesin® formulation and is superior to propofol in preclinical models.
Phaxan™ is a registered trade mark for alphaxalone formulated in sulfobutyl ether beta cyclodextrin being developed by Drawbridge Pharmaceuticals.
Dr Anthony Filippis and Prof. Colin Goodchild are available for interviews
Media contact:
Christine Filippis, Mendleson Communication: ph (03) 9421 6520, email christine@mendleson.com.au
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