If this is not your name, click here.
| | If this is not your name, click here. | | |
| | Contact Us | Order Now | Journals | Bookstore | Register a colleague | | |
| |  Glylorin Investigational Compound To Treat Ichthyosis Licensed to Glaxo RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Dec. 12, 1996 -- An investigational compound being studied in phase III clinical trials for a rare and severe form of ichthyosis has been licensed to Glaxo Wellcome Inc. by Cellegy Pharmaceuticals, Inc. of Foster City, California. The compound, known as Glylorin(TM), entered phase III clinical trials in January 1996 for nonbullous congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma (n-CIE), and also is expected to be evaluated in the treatment of other less severe forms of the disease. Present at birth, n-CIE causes large, coarse scales and abnormal redness over widespread areas of the body. The disease is one of 17 types of ichthyosis, each characterized by varying degrees of dry and scaling skin. Including its less severe forms, ichthyosis affects up to one million people in the United States. While the specific method of action for Glylorin(TM) is unclear, in phase II trials it demonstrated effectiveness as an antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-scaling and anti-proliferative agent. It is also a surfactant. There are an estimated 100,000 reported cases of the most severe forms of ichthyosis in the United States. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Orphan Drug status for Glylorin(TM) for these severe forms known as congenital primary ichthyosis. Currently, there are no approved therapies for ichthyosis. Patients with ichthyosis are now being treated with greases, emollients, and Lac-Hydrin, as well as with oral retinoids. "This drug has the potential to impact nonbullous congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma, a life-ruining form of ichthyosis," said Dr. Robert Gilgor, a dermatologist and director of Dermatology Medical Sciences at Glaxo Wellcome Inc. Cellegy founder, chairman, and Glylorin discoverer, Dr. Carl Thornfeldt said: "This agreement would allow for the quickest distribution of this drug to the greatest number of patients." Glaxo Dermatology, a division of Glaxo Wellcome Inc., is dedicated to the development of unique dermatologic treatments. Glaxo Wellcome Inc.., based in Research Triangle Park, N.C., is the nation's leading research-based pharmaceutical company. A subsidiary of London-based Glaxo Wellcome Plc (NYSE: GLX), the company is committed to fighting disease by bringing innovative medicines and services to patients and to the healthcare providers who serve them. Cellegy is a pharmaceutical company developing and bringing to market, through corporate collaborations and marketing arrangements, a new generation of drug delivery products, as well as consumer and prescription products, based upon manipulation of the skin barrier.
|
