Australian pharma company Pharmaxis said its clinical trial application for Bronchitol to treat bronchiectasis has been accepted for evaluation by China's State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA).
Approval of the clinical trial application is expected in the fourth quarter of 2008. Pharmaxis expects Bronchitol to be the first targeted medication for this patient group in over 20 years. Preliminary market research indicates that the number of Chinese who suffer from bronchiectasis is more than double that in the rest of the world.
Pharmaxis CEO, Mr Alan Robertson said, a number of leading Chinese respiratory physicians have indicated they wish to conduct bronchiectasis studies, and have confirmed there is a large unmet need for new treatments for bronchiectatic patients. The cost of conducting clinical trials in China is significantly less than in other parts of the world, and the results of the trials can be used to support additional marketing applications throughout Asia Pacific and the rest of the world.
Bronchitol is being developed as a daily therapy for people with the currently incurable lung condition bronchiectasis. Bronchitol is administered by inhalation to the patient's lungs. Bronchiectasis is a degenerative and chronic lung condition that makes breathing difficult because of excessive mucus buildup in the lungs.