SAN DIEGO, Nov. 21 /CNW/ -- Savient Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:
SVNTE) announced that patients with elevated blood uric acid levels and
treatment-resistant gout who were treated with its investigational drug
Puricase(R) (PEG-uricase) had substantial and sustained reduction in plasma
urate levels, according to study results presented at the American College of
Rheumatology 2005 Annual Meeting. In addition, two case studies from the
Phase 2 open-label trial that were presented show anecdotal photographic
evidence that treatment with PEG-uricase unexpectedly resolved tophi, the
nodular deposits of urate that can cause pain, local ulceration, disfigurement
and joint destruction. It is unknown whether tophi were resolved in patients
at other investigational sites as clinical outcome measures were not part of
the phase 2 protocol design.
