EndoTAG-1 Given Exclusivity in Europe, Patent in US
Thursday, October 12th, 2006German biotech firm Medigene announced that the European Medicines Agency had recommended an orphan drug designation (which ensures exclusivity in the European market for 10 years after marketing approval) for drug candidate EndoTAG-1.
The drug, a combination of Paclitaxel and a carrier system, targets newly formed blood vessels and destroys them, starving tumors of their blood supply. Last month, the U.S. Patent Office granted similar exclusivity, awarding patent protection for EndoTAG-1 as a drug for the treatment of various types of cancer.