CPRX
Firdapse tiene breakthrough status desde agosto de 2013. Lo de comentar que está aprobado en europa es porque sabemos que por lo menos el fármaco funciona y que tienen un dossier con info a presentar ante la FDA que ha sido por lo menos suficiente para aprobar el fco en Europa...y ni por esas
Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners Receives Breakthrough Therapy Designation From FDA for Firdapse(TM) for the Treatment of LEMS
CORAL GABLES, Fla., Aug. 27, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc. (Nasdaq:CPRX), a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel prescription drugs targeting rare (orphan) neuromuscular and neurological diseases, today announced that its investigational product Firdapse™ (amifampridine phosphate) has received "Breakthrough Therapy Designation" by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the symptomatic treatment of patients with Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome (LEMS). Firdapse™ is Catalyst's investigational therapy that is being evaluated for the treatment of the debilitating symptoms associated with LEMS, including muscle weakness.
"We are very pleased to have received Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Firdapse™ and we are excited by the FDA's decision to place our product in a category that may enable expedited development and review for patients with LEMS," said Patrick McEnany, President and Chief Executive Officer of Catalyst. "With no approved or effective symptomatic treatment currently available for LEMS, Firdapse™ has the potential to be the first-line treatment option for patients with this rare condition."
Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Firdapse™ was based on clinical data from several previously published clinical trials of amifampridine (3,4-DAP) in patients with LEMS. Firdapse™ has the potential to provide significant relief of the often debilitating symptoms of the disease, including muscle weakness (e.g. difficulty walking), difficulty swallowing and talking, drooping of eyelids and facial weakness.
About Breakthrough Therapy Designation
Breakthrough Therapy Designation was enacted as part of the 2012 Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (FDASIA). FDASIA defines breakthrough therapy as a drug that is "intended, alone or in combination with one or more other drugs, to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the drug may demonstrate substantial improvement over existing therapies on one or more clinically significant endpoints, such as substantial treatment effects observed early in clinical development."
A breakthrough therapy designation conveys all of the fast track program features, as well as more intensive FDA guidance on an efficient drug development program. The FDA also has an organizational commitment to involve senior management in such guidance. The Breakthrough Therapy Designation is a distinct status from both accelerated approval and priority review, which can also be granted to the same drug if relevant criteria are met.