May Launch Planned For Vitrasert In UK

Chiron Vision and copromotion partner Roche are planning to launchVitrasert, their ganciclovir implant for the treatment of cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis in patients with HIV disease, in the UK next month. The product was recently approved by the European Medicines Evaluation Agency (Marketletter March 31). It was launched in its first market, the USA, last year (Marketletter March 11, 1996).

At a press conference to publicize the approval, Mark Nelson of the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital in London told reporters that CMV retinitis occurs in 20%-40% of patients with AIDS. Current treatment with systemic (intravenous and oral) or local intraocular injections can control the infection, but are associated with toxicities such as anemia, neutropenia, renal failure and nausea.

Vitrasert provides an important new option for patients with CMV retinitis, allowing local therapy without systemic side effects. It is surgically implanted in the front of an eye in a procedure lasting up to an hour under local anesthesia.