COLLEGEVILLE, Pa., July 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth (NYSE: WYE - News), announced today that it received an approvable letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for PRISTIQ(TM) (desvenlafaxine), a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), currently under review as a treatment for moderate-to-severe vasomotor symptoms (hot flashes and night sweats) associated with menopause.
In its letter, the FDA said that before the application could be approved, it would be necessary for Wyeth to provide additional data regarding the potential for serious adverse cardiovascular and hepatic effects associated with the use of PRISTIQ in this indication. The Agency requested that these data come from a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial of a duration of one year or more conducted in postmenopausal women. The Agency also requested that Wyeth address certain CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls) deficiencies prior to approval.
The FDA also made additional clinical and chemistry requests, which the Agency stated were not approvability issues.
“Wyeth remains committed to the development of PRISTIQ as a potential treatment for moderate-to-severe vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause,” says Gary L. Stiles, M.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. “We will work with the Agency to satisfy its requests for additional data and move the medicine forward in the FDA review process.”
On January 22, 2007, the Company received an approvable letter for PRISTIQ for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), which did not require submission of additional clinical studies prior to approval for this indication. As previously announced, Wyeth intends to submit its complete response to the MDD approvable letter at the end of August, and the Agency is expected to act on the application during the first quarter of 2008.
About Wyeth Pharmaceuticals
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth, has leading products in the areas of women’s health care, infectious disease, gastrointestinal health, central nervous system, inflammation, transplantation, hemophilia, oncology, vaccines and nutritional products.
Wyeth is one of the world’s largest research-driven pharmaceutical and health care products companies. It is a leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, biotechnology products and non-prescription medicines that improve the quality of life for people worldwide. The Company’s major divisions include Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare and Fort Dodge Animal Health.
The statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements based on current expectations of future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. In particular, the statements in this press release regarding our expectations for PRISTIQ are based on a preliminary analysis of the FDA action letter received on July 23, 2007, regarding the vasomotor symptoms indication and our expectations as to the future regulatory approval process, all of which are subject to risks and uncertainties. Risks and uncertainties include the inherent uncertainty of the timing and success of, and expense associated with, research, development, regulatory approval and commercialization of our products and pipeline products (including PRISTIQ); government cost- containment initiatives; restrictions on third-party payments for our products; substantial competition in our industry, including from branded and generic products; data generated on our products; the importance of strong performance from our principal products and our anticipated new product introductions; the highly regulated nature of our business; product liability, intellectual property and other litigation risks and environmental liabilities; uncertainty regarding our intellectual property rights and those of others; difficulties associated with, and regulatory compliance with respect to, manufacturing of our products; risks associated with our strategic relationships; economic conditions including interest and currency exchange rate fluctuations; changes in generally accepted accounting principles; trade buying patterns; the impact of legislation and regulatory compliance; risks and uncertainties associated with global operations and sales; and other risks and uncertainties, including those detailed from time to time in our periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our current reports on Form 8-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and annual report on Form 10-K, particularly the discussion under the caption “Item 1A, Risk Factors.” The forward-looking statements in this press release are qualified by these risk factors. We assume no obligation to publicly update any forward- looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
For more information, visit www.Wyeth.com.
Source: Wyeth Pharmaceuticals
