Peptech jumps on FDA approvalJan 2 14:08Bill McConnellPeptech...

Peptech jumps on FDA approval
Jan 2 14:08
Bill McConnell


Peptech shares vaulted more than 30 per cent higher on Thursday, providing a welcome distraction to an otherwise lethargic day's trade on the Australian Stock Exchange.

The company announced it's licensing partner, Abbott Laboratories, had received US Food and Drug Administration approval for a rheumatoid arthritis treatment earlier than had been expected.

Abbott Laboratories also said it expected regulatory approval for the drug use in Europe by mid-2003.

In mid-afternoon trades, Peptech shares were trading up 40¢, or 36.4 per cent at $1.50.

"Humira is the first human monoclonal antibody approved for reducing the signs and symptoms and inhibiting the progression of structural damage in adults with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis who have had insufficient response to one or more traditional disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs," the company said in a statement to the ASX.

Peptech's core business is focused on developing, producing and marketing peptides and other related antibodies used for treating cancer, inflammation and infection with particular emphasis on arthritis.

The arthritis treatment is delivered by injection and can be applied through specially designed prefilled syringes for sufferers of severe joint destruction.

Abbott Laboratories said shipments of Humira will begin next week and annual sales could reach approximately $US1 billion.

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The news follows a long-running dispute between Peptech and Centocor regarding royalty and patent applications which saw Peptech shares more than halve in value from $2.03 to less than $1 in October last year.

Analysts have since become increasingly confident of Peptech's legal position given its steady accumulation of patent coverage in the US.


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