CHMP gives nod to Wyeth's Conbriza, Fresenius' Removab, Nycomed's Pantozol, etc

At its February meeting, the European Medicines Agency's (EMEA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) adopted positive  opinions, recommending approval of drugs made by four different  companies.

Conbriza (bazedoxifene), from US drug major and Pfizer takeover target  Wyeth, was given the thumbs up as a treatment of post-menopausal  osteoporosis in women at increased risk of fracture.

Other recommendations included: Exalief/ Zebinix (eslicarbazepine  acetate), from Portugal's BIAL-Portela, as adjunctive therapy in adults  with partial-onset seizures with or without secondary generalisation;  Pantozol Control (pantoprazole), an over-the-counter drug from Swiss  firm Nycomed, for the short-term treatment of reflux symptoms in adults,  which will be available without prescription; Removab (catumaxomab),  from Germany's Fresenius Biotech GmbH, for the intraperitoneal treatment  of malignant ascites in patients with EpCAM-positive carcinomas where  standard therapy is not available or no longer feasible.