Search
Most Popular Articles
- Discussion of the Human Body Defense System
- The story of the 12 animals zodiac in China
- How to Balance Your Body to Get Pregnant
- How To Stop Your Cat Scratching - Get Rid Of Those Fleas
- Eating Junk Food -- The Hidden Price
- Ski Boots -- Testing 1, 2, 3
- Wear it Up or Wear it Down?
- Cat Care, Cat Products and Cat Diseases
- Choosing a Cell Phone
- Artificial Satellite Types
-Saving Pediatric Drug Becomes Readily Available to Those in Need
 Category |
: Health |
 Times Read |
: 58 |
 Date |
: 23 March 2008 07:00 |
by: ARA Content
(ARA) - We can all sympathize with the frustration people experience waiting for a new drug that is being tested for a certain disorder. Imagine you have a child with a rare disorder and the only drug effective for treating the disorder is not only extremely hard to obtain, but available only through a nationally-administered random selection process. For many American families, this dilemma is a harsh reality.
Patients suffering from a host of difficult to treat orphan disorders have found marked relief from using HP Acthar Gel. Some disorders Acthar helps include seizure complex in babies and young children, referred to as Wests syndrome or infantile spasm; Stills disease and ulcerative colitis; Bells palsy; multiple sclerosis; adrenocortical insufficiency and non-endocrine disorders that are responsive to glucocorticoids.
For the past four years, however, the drug has only been available through a limited access program administered by the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD), a federation of more that 135 non-profit health organizations serving people with rare disorders.
U.S. physicians who were interested in obtaining Acthar Gel for their patients with life-threatening or severely debilitating conditions who did not respond to any other treatment were given first access to the drug. Others with "non-life-threatening" cases had to enroll in a computerized random selection process administered by NORD.
An estimated 1,600 patients, primarily suffering from Wests syndrome and multiple sclerosis who experience episodes of "flare," have been allowed access to HP Acthar Gel each year for the past four years under the limited access program. More than 5,000 additional patients whose physicians requested the drug were denied.
The origins of this drug shortage crisis date back to 1996 when Aventis Pharmaceuticals stopped making Acthar for a few months because of manufacturing difficulties.
But now, Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMEX: QSC) has signed an agreement with Aventis to acquire the worldwide rights to HP Acthar Gel. Questcor has also reached a manufacturing agreement with Aventis and will gradually move production to an independent manufacturing facility.
As a result, HP Acthar Gel is now back in full production and is returning to normal levels of distribution. Questcor began shipments of HP Acthar Gel to wholesalers the last week of September 2001, giving patients in need access to the product.
"We are delighted that Questcor is making this critically important product more widely available after this long period of restricted distribution," said Abbey S. Meyers, president of NORD. "We have been working closely with the company over the last several months to ensure that anyone with a need for Acthar Gel is now able to readily receive the product through more traditional channels. Too many people have suffered as a result of limited access to Acthar Gel."
Questcor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a fully integrated specialty pharmaceutical company that serves the needs of acute and critical care hospitals with its proprietary products. Visit www.questcor.com for more information on the company and its products.
If you are a patient with a disorder that can be treated with Acthar, ask your doctor to contact Questcor Pharmaceuticals at (510) 400-0700. For more information about Acthar, including distribution information, please visit www.Acthar.com.
About The Author
Courtesy ARA Content, www.ARAcontent.com; e-mail: info@ARAcontent.com
Random Article 1 |
Random Article 2 |
by: Adam Waxler How much weight do you want to lose? Are you being realistic about how long it will take to achieve your weight loss goal? When someone has decided to lose weight, one of the first things that person should do is set a goal weight or an ideal weight. Unfortunat |
by: Adrian Richards MBBS, MSc, FRCS (Plast) As many as one in 100 individuals across the UK suffer from severe excessive sweating or hyperhidrosis, according to the clinical paper Boni R. in Kreydon OP, Boni R, Burg G (eds); Hyperhidrosis and Botulinum Toxin in Dermatology. Many more |
Random Article 3 |
Random Article 4 |
by: Nancy Hill Grandma was right. Bless your food. Its a rare thing these days to hear someone blessing their food. Other than Thanksgivingand quaint Norman Rockwell paintingsour food goes unblessed. Happily consumed, largely unappreciated. There is real magic in the blessing |
by: Reginald Turner The Dangers About Your Personal Care Products That May Shock You Or Harm You
|
| indir notebook hiperucuz.com teknoloji forum hava kargo adtech ile reklam 2.0 dönemi ba?l?yor ve Trkycmhrytllbtpydrklcktr r10.net seo yar??mas? |