VERNON HILLS, Ill., March 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Immtech International, Inc. announced today that the United States Adopted Names Council (USAN) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have approved the generic name “pafuramidine maleate” for Immtech’s oral drug candidate, DB289.
Immtech has an exclusive, worldwide license to pafuramidine and is currently involved in late stage human clinical trials of the drug for the treatment of malaria, Pneumocystis pneumonia (PcP), and African sleeping sickness.
Rick Sorkin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Immtech, said, “We are pleased to be advancing our first oral drug candidate towards regulatory approval and commercial launch. We believe pafuramidine will be an important advancement in the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases. With its unique mechanisms of action, pafuramidine represents new hope for patients worldwide.”
Pafuramidine is an orally available prodrug of a potent dicationic bis-benzamidine compound that was discovered and characterized by scientists at Georgia State University and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, two leading institutional members of Immtech’s Scientific Consortium.
Obtaining approval for a generic (or nonproprietary) name is the first step in establishing branding for a drug in preparation for commercial launch. Immtech next will develop a brand (or proprietary) name for review and approval by the FDA and other regulatory agencies during the NDA review process.
About Immtech International
Immtech International, Inc. is a pharmaceutical company developing and commercializing drugs to treat infectious diseases, and the Company is expanding targeted markets by applying its proprietary pharmaceutical platform to treat many other disorders. Immtech has advanced clinical programs that include new treatments for malaria, Pneumocystis pneumonia and African sleeping sickness (Trypanosomiasis) and drug development programs for tuberculosis and fungal infections. The Company has worldwide licensing and exclusive commercialization rights to a large library of well-defined compounds from which a pipeline of therapeutic products could be developed. For additional information, please go to http://www.immtech-international.com.
“Safe Harbor” Statement under the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Immtech International, Inc.'s business which are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements” that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.
Immtech International, Inc.
CONTACT: F. C. Thompson of Immtech International, Inc., 1-877-898-8038
Web site: http://www.immtech-international.com/
