Back to Headlines Print Version Buzz Up Stumble it Tweet it Facebook LinkedIn

Shionogi: Filed Application For New Influenza Drug In Japan

TOKYO -(Dow Jones)- Shionogi & Co. Ltd. (4507.TO) said Wednesday it has filed a new drug application in Japan for its influenza drug, Peramivir.

The filing, just three months after obtaining phase-3 clinical trial results, comes unusually early as the government seeks new treatments for the swine flu virus.

Shionogi's new drug application is the first such filing for Peramivir. The drug's original developer, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. (BCRX), recently received emergency-use authorization status in the U.S. for use on some swine flu patients before official marketing approval.

In Japan, Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. (4568.TO) is also developing a new influenza drug expected to be more effective in treating swine flu than the currently available treatments.

-By Kazuhiro Shimamura, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-6895-7566; kazuhiro.shimamura@dowjones.com

  (END) Dow Jones Newswires
  11-03-092338ET
  Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.