16th Sep 2019 09:12
(Alliance News) - Pharma major AstraZeneca PLC on Monday said its drug Farixga has been granted Fast Track designation in the US for patients with heart failure.
Farixga is intended to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death and the worsening of heart failure in patients who have heart failure with reduced ejection fraction or preserved ejection fraction. Ejection fracture is a measure of the percentage of blood leaving the heart when it contracts.
Heart failure is a disease where the heart does not pump enough blood around the person's body, and affects around 64 million people worldwide. It is a chronic illness and 50% of patients die within five years of being diagnosed.
The US Food & Drug Administration's Fast Track programme is intended to speed up the development and review of new drugs to treat serious conditions that have an unmet treatment need.
Mene Pangalos, executive vice president of BioPharmaceuticals research & development at AstraZeneca, said: "Heart failure affects approximately 64 million people worldwide, and about half will die within five years of diagnosis. This Fast Track designation for Farxiga brings us closer to fulfilling our ambition to help prevent, treat and cure heart failure, and we look forward to working with the FDA to explore Farxiga as a potential new treatment option for heart failure patients."
Shares in Astra were down 0.3% at 6,843.00 pence in London on Monday morning.
Related Shares:
Astrazeneca