LA JOLLA, Calif. (AP) – Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. said its medicine Promacta will receive priority review from U.S. regulators for a new use against blood-related complications of hepatitis C.
Ligand’s partner GlaxoSmithKline received the designation for its application to market Promacta for adults with thrombocytopenia caused by the hepatitis C virus. Thrombocytopenia is a shortage of platelet cells, which help with blood clotting.
The Food and Drug Administration aims to complete priority reviews within six months, as opposed the usual 10 months for most drugs.
Promacta was originally approved in 2008 for a rare condition called chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura, in which the body attacks its own platelets. Promacta was discovered by Ligand of La Jolla, Calif., and is marketed by London-based GlaxoSmithKline.
Date: July 25, 2012
Source: Associated Press
Filed Under: Drug Discovery
