BioCentury
ARTICLE | Product Development

Inspire sniffling out its options

November 11, 2002 8:00 AM UTC

The biotech sector has not yet gotten the chance to see if patients are willing to pay for doctors' visits and prescription drugs for the common cold, as ViroPharma Inc.'s Picovir pleconaril was turned down by the FDA earlier this year. The industry may yet get an answer to that question, as Inspire Pharmaceuticals Inc. last week reported positive Phase II data for its INS37217 P2Y2 agonist in patients with the common cold.

In the trial, based on patient diaries, INS37217 improved symptoms of post-nasal drip, malaise, rhinorrhea, nasal congestion and cough (see B12). ...