Speedel reports on drug pipeline progress

At its annual R&D meeting in Basel, Swiss biopharmaceutical firm Speedel reported on the progress of several of its pipeline drug candidates, and reiterated its commitment to develop products that address currently unmet medical needs which have significant commercial potential.

SPP200: effective in Phase II study

One highlight of the meeting was a discussion of the company's drug SPP200 (pegylated musirudin), which is under development as a long-acting thrombin inhibitor for use in the prevention of clot formation following vascular graft surgery. The agent, which was in-licensed from US health care major Abbott Laboratories in 2003 (Marketletters passim), has demonstrated robust efficacy in Phase II assessments that included data from over 9,000 hemodialysis sessions.