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medpundit |
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Wednesday, November 17, 2004Isosorbide dinitrate and hydralazine have been used for the treatment of heart failure in the past. The isosorbide-hydralazine combination pill was patented (in the 1980’s) for the treatment of congestive heart failure, but failed to provide significant benefits in large trials; as a result, the FDA would not approve it as a new medication. Subgroup analysis of the original trials, however, suggested benefit in black patients. The company NitroMed, which had acquired the rights to the combination, then applied for and received a new patent for it specifically for the treatment of heart failure in black patients. Unlike the original patent, which expires in 2007, the new one for the same medication is valid until 2020. Armed with this new patent, NitroMed sponsored the current trial. With the positive results just reported, the FDA is likely to approve BiDil for use in black patients. My initial reaction to this whole story was that it represents a typical interaction between industry, the patent system and the FDA. There is a one-two punch with the patent system prolonging the drug company’s monopoly by granting a new patent for use in a subpopulation, which the FDA then protects by limiting approval of the medication to that subpopulation. The other side of this coin, however, is that precisely this system led to a potential profit for NitroMed, which made sponsoring the trial financially attractive. The result is likely to be of benefit to many African Americans. A prime example of the strengths and problems with the pharmaceutical industry’s ties to regulatory agencies. posted by Sydney on 11/17/2004 07:30:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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