ProStrakan shares surge on US test results for key cancer drug

Published on Monday 17 December 2007 19:45

PROSTRAKAN, the Borders pharmaceutical company, has been boosted by a positive drug trial for its treatment for cancer-related pain, which it plans to launch next year.

Clinical tests in the US showed patients using Rapinyl – a fast-dissolving pill placed under the tongue – experienced "statistically significant" relief from pain in as little as ten minutes. The drug is designed to provide relief from sudden breakthrough pain – pain that "breaks through" regular therapeutic treatment – experienced by many sufferers. It has the added benefit of not requiring swallowing, which many cancer patients find difficult.

Endo Pharmaceuticals, which own the rights to Rapinyl in North America, released the results from its placebo-controlled tests, which it is required to undertake before submission to the US Food & Drug Authority.

Galashiels-based ProStrakan owns the European rights to the drug and was not required to complete the phase three tests, with Rapinyl currently being reviewed by the committee for medicinal Products for Human Use, part of the European Medicines Agency. ProStrakan is hoping for approval for pan-European sales of the drug some time in 2008, before launching it by the end of the year. Shares in ProStrakan rose 2.8 per cent to 63.75p on a day when almost all Scottish FTSE-listed companies dropped.

While ProStrakan has a number of drugs on sale and in development, Rapinyl is closely watched by analysts who have estimated that it could eventually generate sales worth more $50 million a year, almost as much as the company currently makes in total sales.

Chief executive Wilson Totten welcomed the results, saying: "We view the results as further evidence of the efficacy of this important product and validation of our belief in the clinical and commercial value of Rapinyl."