Just come across this, may be of interest to a few here. Apologies if this has already been posted, article dated 7 January 2014:
New promising drug for life-threatening respiratory syndrome
Turku-based company Faron Pharmaceuticals has developed a new promising drug for the treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The drug, developed together with Faron’s research co-operation network, decreased the likelihood of mortality by more than 80 per cent in trials.
The mortality rate for acute lung injury and the resulting ARDS is around one third of all affected patients. To date, no medical treatment has been available for the illness. Patients are given supportive treatment in intensive care units.
— The decreased length of the ICU stay, which was halved during the study, as well as faster rehabilitation are factors that will be ascertained through further trials. In addition to savings, it would be possible to increase the capacity of ICUs in case of, for example, wide-spread lung epidemics, because patients could be transferred much faster to ordinary wards, explains Faron’s CEO Markku Jalkanen.
According to the company, the new treatment methods could significantly reduce the economic burden on society caused by ARDS patients.
The phase III clinical trial for the FP-1201-lyo drug will take place in research hospitals throughout Europe. The European Union will support the phase III clinical trial known as “Traumakine” with EUR 6 million and it will be carried out together with the University of Turku and the University College London Hospital.
— The medicine has received orphan drug status from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) with ten-year market exclusivity. It has also been patented in Japan, in addition to which the company has several patents and patents pending in various parts of the world, Jalkanen adds.
The prestigious medical journal The Lancet Respiratory Medicine has published the research results in its online publication.
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Keep fingers crossed for those affected by ARDS
