Baxter receives positive CHMP opinion on new Kiovig indication

Baxter has been granted a positive opinion from Europe's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) for a new indication of its drug Kiovig.

The European Medicines Agency committee has endorsed the intravenous immunoglobulin treatment as a therapy option for patients with multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN), based on positive data from clinical trials.

During these studies, the drug was shown to help minimise the impact of the severely debilitating disorder, which leaves sufferers with progressive weakness in the limbs.

If granted final approval by the European Commission, it would be the first centrally-licensed indication for an immunoglobulin preparation for MMN in the region.

Professor Hartmut Ehrlich, vice-president of global research and development for Baxter's bioscience business, said: "With today's CHMP recommendation, Baxter looks forward to offering patients suffering from MMN a licensed treatment option to relieve their symptoms of limb weakness and motor dysfunction."

According to the company's most recent financial report, Baxter saw a better-than-expected business performance in the first quarter of 2011, with sales rising by 12 percent year on year.