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Another feather in the cap for Cosentyx
Source: eurekalert.org
Quote:
Novartis has been awarded the prestigious 2016 Prix Galien USA Award for Best Biotechnology Product for Cosentyx® (secukinumab), as well as the Prix Galien Foundation "Discovery of the Decade" Award for Best Pharmaceutical Product for the drug Gleevec® (imatinib mesylate). The awards were presented at a ceremony in New York City on October 27.
"We are honored to receive these prestigious awards for Cosentyx and Gleevec, which not only have changed the practice of medicine for certain conditions, but also represent years of hard work by our scientists," said Joseph Jimenez, CEO of Novartis. "These wins underscore our commitment to addressing the unmet medical needs of patients through science-based innovation."
Cosentyx was the first fully human interleukin-17A (IL-17A) antagonist approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2015 for the treatment of adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis1. Psoriasis affects an estimated 7.5 million people in the US2. It is a chronic immune-mediated disease characterized by thick and extensive skin lesions (plaques), which can cause itching, scaling, and pain2. Cosentyx was also approved for the treatment of active ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis in 20161.
The discovery of Gleevec marked the first time in the history of cancer treatment that scientists were able to identify a chromosomal abnormality and then develop a drug that would target that specific protein. Gleevec, a molecularly targeted treatment, rapidly became a therapy of choice for Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia (Ph+ CML) and KIT (CD117)-positive gastrointestinal stromal tumors (KIT+ GIST)3. By showing that certain diseases can share a drug-sensitive target with seemingly unrelated ailments, and that molecular targeting can be medically and commercially successful, Gleevec helped establish a new paradigm for drug development.
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About the Prix Galien Awards
Considered "the pharmaceutical industry's Nobel Prize," the Prix Galien rewards excellence in scientific innovation that improves the state of human health. The award was first established in 1970 by French pharmacist Roland Mehl and was inaugurated in the United States in 2007 to recognize the technical, scientific and clinical research skills necessary to develop innovative medicines. Since 1970, Novartis has received more than 40 national Prix Galien awards in fifteen countries for innovative therapies such as Gleevec® (imatinib mesylate), Rimactane® (rifampin), Parlodel® (bromocriptine mesylate), Sandimmune® (cyclosporine), Sandostatin® (octreotide acetate), Simulect® (basiliximab) and Visudyne® (verteporfin)4.
The "Discovery of the Decade" is a special once-in-10-years recognition for distinguished industry achievement in medical innovation. The awards honor extraordinary human health impact in three categories - Best Pharmaceutical Product, Best Biotechnology Product, and Best Medical Technology. In addition to Gleevec® (imatinib mesylate), two other Novartis products were nominated for "Discovery of the Decade," including Coartem® (artemether/lumefantrine) for Best Pharmaceutical Product and Promacta® (eltrombopag olamine) for Best Biotechnology Product. Gleevec won the Prix Galien International Prize in 2002, and was recognized again in 2009 by the Prix Galien USA committee for "Best Pharmaceutical Product"5.
About Cosentyx and interleukin-17A (IL-17A)
Cosentyx is a fully human monoclonal antibody (mAB) that selectively binds to the interleukin-17A (IL-17A) cytokine and inhibits its interaction with the IL-17 receptor1.
Cosentyx is approved in more than 65 countries for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis which includes the European Union countries, Japan, Switzerland, Australia, the U.S. and Canada6. In the U.S., Cosentyx is approved for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adult patients who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy (light therapy). Cosentyx is also approved in the US for adult patients with active ankylosing spondylitis and active psoriatic arthritis1.
More than 10,000 patients have been treated with Cosentyx in clinical trial settings across multiple indications, and over 50,000 patients have been treated in the post-marketing setting worldwide7.
Source: eurekalert.org
