Sanofi-aventis granted orphan drug status for tuberculosis treatment

Sanofi-aventis has been given orphan drug status from the European Commission for the new treatment it has developed for tuberculosis.

The pharmaceutical company’s drug rifapentine was granted the status on the back of a recommendation from the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products and provides Sanofi-aventis with several benefits, including marketing exclusivity for ten years.

Rifapentine has been demonstrated to provide a longer half-life and superior inhibitory activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis than rifampin, the current standard for tuberculosis treatment.

Robert Sebbag, vice-president for access to medicines at Sanofi-aventis, said simplified tuberculosis treatments are of “utmost importance” in combating drug-resistant strains of the condition.

He added: “Rifapentine is currently one of the most promising drugs for the improvement of patient compliance, which is key to the success of tuberculosis treatment.”

Earlier this week, Sanofi-aventis agreed a deal to purchase small molecule kinase inhibitor specialist TargeGen, thereby expanding its presence in the haematological malignancies market.