GSK obtains OTC rights to Mevacor from MSD

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has acquired the over-the-counter (OTC) marketing rights to Mevacor (lovastatin) from Merck, Sharp and Dohme (MSD).

Under the terms of the agreement, GSK has exclusive rights to the compound in the US. Financial details of the deal have not been publicly disclosed, but include the royalties and milestone payments from GSK to MSD.

Mevacor is a cholesterol-reducing drug launched by MSD in 1987 and its US patent expired in 2001. It was first in a class of drugs known as statins.

A new drug application filed by MSD for Mevacor is to be reviewed by the US Food and Drug Administration in December, with the company seeking approval for once-daily administration of a 20 mg dose of the drug to lower cholesterol.

J P Garnier, chief executive officer of GSK, said: “This new partnership with Merck will enable GSK to address the important public health issue of high cholesterol and help patients better manage their health.”

He added that the addition of Mevacor to its portfolio will add to its developing OTC business and shows the ability of the firm to engage in partnership working in such opportunities.

In January 2006, research from the Jichi Medical School found that statins could aid in the killing of superflous tissue that causes rheumatoid arthritis.