Insulin glargine (Aventis Pharma).
Insulin glargine is a biosynthetic human insulin analog which has been developed by Aventis Pharma (formerly Hoechst Marion Roussel, HMR), for the treatment of types I and II diabetes. In April 1999, HMR filed insulin glargine for approval in both Europe and the US [322507]. In April 2000, the FDA approved insulin glargine (as Lantus) for the treatment of adult patients with type II diabetes mellitus, who require basal insulin for the control of hyperglycemia, and for adult and pediatric patients with type I diabetes mellitus [363836]. Aventis expects to launch this product during 2000 [361988]. In June 2000, the EMEA approved insulin glargine for the treatment of both type I and II diabetes [370984]. In April 1999, the FDA recommended that HMR should initially submit 6-month efficacy and safety data, instead of the usual 12- month data, to hasten the FDA approval procedure. The rest of the phase III data would be added to the filing at a later date [279466]. Insulin glargine is in phase III trials in Japan as a substitute for basal insulin in the treatment of Type I diabetes [216445]. Two formulations of insulin glargine with zinc have also been tested in phase I trials. HOE-71/GT15 and GT80 contain 15 and 80 mu g/ml of zinc. These formulations appear to have longer duration of action with a reduced peak insulin effect [177507]. This insulin analog has a lower receptor binding affinity compared with human insulin, but shows equal potency in vivo [320724]. Insulin glargine was designated as a medium priority project by HMR, which means the project had been set tight deadlines which if not achieved, would have resulted in discontinuation [221118]. In April 2000, Novo Nordisk filed a complaint in Germany against Aventis claiming that the production and sale of insulin glargine infringes two German patents held by Novo Nordisk [364362]. In July 2000, Credit Lyonnais Securities Europe predicted that insulin glargine was likely to enjoy a strong competitive position for several years in Europe and the US, following launch in these territories during 2000, while it was predicted that a registration dossier would be submitted in Japn in 2002. Sales were predicted to reach Euro 600 million by 2005. In April 1999, ABN Amro predicted annual sales of DM 75 million in 2000, rising to DM 200 million in 2002 [328676].
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