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Friday, September 22, 2006
SERONO'S ORAL CLADRIBINE FOR THE TREATMENT OF MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS AWARDED FAST TRACK STATUS BY FDA...update 1
Geneva, Switzerland, September 21, 2006 - Serono (virt-x: SEO and NYSE: SRA) announced today that oral cladribine has been designated a Fast Track product by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This designation covers patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis. Serono’s proprietary oral formulation of cladribine for the treatment of multiple sclerosis is currently being evaluated in a multi-center, multi-national Phase III study, CLARITY (CLAdRIbine Tablets Treating MS OrallY) . It is a two-year, double-blind, placebo-controlled study involving over 1,200 patients. Patient enrollment into this pivotal trial is planned to be completed by the end of 2006. “We are very pleased that oral cladribine has been designated a Fast Track product,” said Ernesto Bertarelli, CEO of Serono. “As a leader in multiple sclerosis, we are committed to providing new treatment options that can further improve the quality of the lives of people with this serious disease and our objective is to bring to them the first oral disease modifying treatment.” "Thanks to decades of research, there are injectible drugs available to treat some forms of MS, but there is certainly a need for more and even better therapies to treat all forms of the disease. Having an effective oral therapy for MS would be a major step forward in improving quality of life for people with MS," said Dr. John Richert, Vice President, Research and Clinical Programs, at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Fast Track programs are designed to facilitate the development and expedite the review of new drugs that are intended to treat serious or life-threatening conditions and that demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs. Under Fast Track designation oral cladribine is eligible for Priority Review and FDA may consider for review portions of the marketing application before the New Drug Application (NDA) is completed. About cladribine Cladribine is a purine nucleoside analogue that interferes with the behavior and the proliferation of certain white blood cells, particularly lymphocytes, which are involved in the pathological process of multiple sclerosis. Through its differentiated mechanism of action, oral cladribine may offer an alternative option to patients with multiple sclerosis. |