Johnson and Johnson subsidiary announces EU approval of Simponi

Johnson and Johnson company Centocor Ortho Biotech, in collaboration with Schering-Plough, has announced the approval of their jointly developed product Simponi (golimumab) in the EU.

The drug is used as a once-monthly, subcutaneous therapy for the treatment of moderate-to-severe active rheumatoid arthritis, active and progressive psoriatic arthritis and severe, active ankylosing spondylitis.

Thomas Koestler, executive vice-president and president of the Schering-Plough Research Institute, said: “With this approval, Schering-Plough can now bring Simponi, one of the five stars in our development pipeline, to market in Europe.”

Centocor Ortho Biotech, which developed and discovered Simponi, retains the exclusive marketing rights to the product in the US, while it will be marketed by Janssen-Cilag in Hong Kong and Xian-Janssen in China.

Meanwhile, another Johnson and Johnson company, Veridex, revealed this week that its CellSearch Circulating Tumour Cell Test has been given the first-ever Prix Galien 2009 award for the best medical technology.