Medicure to develop patch for Aggrastat formulation
Transdermal method could have significant advantages over current treatments
Medicure in the US plans to develop a transdermal delivery formulation of its lead drug, Aggrastat (tirofiban HCl).
Aggrastat and other antiplatelet drugs of its class (glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors) are currently administered only by intravenous infusion. In vivo proof of principle for the transdermal delivery of therapeutic levels of Aggrastat’s active ingredient, tirofiban, was recently established in animal studies conducted in collaboration with 4P Therapeutics of Alpharetta, GA, US.
4P Therapeutics, a specialist in novel transdermal products, has agreed a deal with Medicure’s subsidiary, Medicure International, to develop transdermal tirofiban. The company’s initial target use for transdermal tirofiban is the treatment of acute coronary syndromes for which the drug is already approved by the US FDA.
The delivery of tirofiban by a novel, transdermal method could have significant advantages over current treatments. ‘The introduction of a transdermal glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor would have a significant impact on the management of several cardiovascular conditions,’ said Dr David Lee, director of the Cardiac Catheterization and Coronary Intervention Labs, Stanford University Medical Center.
‘This innovation would not only further enhance the ease-of-use and convenience associated with this class of drugs, but may also facilitate earlier, prehospital administration as well as a number of other new applications.’
