BioCentury
ARTICLE | Product Development

Shock value

May 7, 2007 7:00 AM UTC

Former Eli Lilly employees at Cardiome Pharma Corp. were largely responsible for last week's in-licensing deal for GED-aPC, a next-generation version of the pharma company's Xigris drotrecogin alfa drug for severe sepsis. Now, Cardiome's task is developing the compound in a challenging indication - cardiogenic shock.

Xigris is the first and only drug approved to treat severe sepsis, an indication that can kill companies as well as patients. The drug is a recombinant version of human activated protein C and works by decreasing inflammation and coagulation while increasing fibrinolysis. Despite the clear research breakthrough, Xigris posted worldwide sales of only $192.2 million last year, down 10% from $214.6 million in 2005. ...