ViroPharma

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ViroPharma Incorporated
Type Public NASDAQ Biotechnology Index
Nasdaq:  VPHM
Industry Healthcare, Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical company
Founded Exton, Pennsylvania, U.S. (1994)
FounderClaude H. Nash
Mark A. McKinlay
Marc S. Collett
Johanna A. Griffin
Guy D. Diana
Defunct2014
Headquarters Exton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Key people
Vincent Milano
(Chairman and CEO)
Products Vancocin
Revenue132,417,000 USD (2005)
88,145,000 USD (2005)
113,705,000 USD (2005)
Number of employees
232 [1]
Website www.viropharma.com

ViroPharma Incorporated was a pharmaceutical company that developed and sold drugs that addressed serious diseases treated by physician specialists and in hospital settings. The company focused on product development activities on viruses and human disease, including those caused by cytomegalovirus (CMV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. It was purchased by Shire in 2013, with Shire paying around $4.2 billion for the company in a deal that was finalized in January 2014. [2] ViroPharma was a member of the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index and the S&P 600.

Contents

The company had strategic relationships with GlaxoSmithKline, Schering-Plough, and Sanofi-Aventis. ViroPharma acquired Lev Pharmaceuticals in a merger in 2008. [3] [4]

History

ViroPharma Incorporated was founded in 1994 by Claude H. Nash (Chief Executive Officer), Mark A. McKinlay (Vice President, Research & Development), Marc S. Collett (Vice President, Discovery Research), Johanna A. Griffin (Vice President, Business Development), and Guy D. Diana (Vice President, Chemistry Research.) None of the founders are still with the company.

In November 2014, Shire plc acquired ViroPharma for $4.2 billion. [5]

Products

Marketed products

Vancocin Pulvules HCl: licensed from Eli Lilly in 2004. [6] Oral Vancocin is an antibiotic for treatment of staphylococcal enterocolitis and antibiotic associated pseudomembranous colitis caused by Clostridium difficile.

Pipeline

Maribavir is an oral antiviral drug candidate licensed from GlaxoSmithKline in 2003 for the prevention and treatment of human cytomegalovirus disease in hematopoietic stem cell/bone marrow transplant patients. In February 2006, ViroPharma announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had granted the company fast track status for maribavir. [7] [8]

In March 2006, the company announced that a Phase II study with maribavir demonstrated that prophylaxis with maribavir displays strong antiviral activity, as measured by statistically significant reduction in the rate of reactivation of CMV in recipients of hematopoietic stem cell/bone marrow transplants. In an intent-to-treat analysis of the first 100 days after the transplant, the number of subjects who required pre-emptive anti-CMV therapy was statistically significantly reduced (p-value = 0.051 to 0.001) in each of the maribavir groups compared to the placebo group (57% for placebo vs. 15%, 30%, and 15% for maribavir 100 mg twice daily, 400 mg daily, and 400 mg twice daily, respectively).

ViroPharma conducted a Phase III clinical study to evaluate the prophylactic use for the prevention of cytomegalovirus disease in recipients of allogeneic stem cell transplant patients. In February 2009, ViroPharma announced that the Phase III study failed to achieve its goal, showing no significant difference between maribavir and a placebo in reducing the rate of CMV disease. [9]

Failed products

Oral pleconaril was ViroPharma's first compound, licensed from Sanofi in 1995. Pleconaril is active against viruses in the picornavirus family. ViroPharma's first indication was for enteroviral meningitis, but that indication was abandoned when the clinical trials did not demonstrate efficacy.

In 2001, ViroPharma submitted a New Drug Application of pleconaril to the FDA for the common cold. [10] On 2002-03-19, the FDA Antiviral Advisory Committee recommended that the company had failed to show adequate safety, and the FDA subsequently issued a not-approvable letter. [11]

In November 2004, ViroPharma licensed pleconaril to Schering-Plough, [12] who are developing an intranasal formulation for the common cold and asthma exacerbations. (Schering-Plough Development Pipeline). In August 2006, Schering-Plough started a Phase II clinical trial.

Related Research Articles

Sanofi S.A. is a French multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Paris, France. Originally, the corporation was established in 1973 and merged with Synthélabo in 1999 to form Sanofi-Synthélabo. In 2004, Sanofi-Synthélabo merged with Aventis and renamed to Sanofi-Aventis, which were each the product of several previous mergers. It changed its name back to Sanofi in May 2011. The company is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index.

Shire plc was a UK-founded Jersey-registered specialty biopharmaceutical company. Originating in the United Kingdom with an operational base in the United States, its brands and products included Vyvanse, Lialda, and Adderall XR. Shire was acquired by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company on 8 January 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valaciclovir</span> Anti-herpes virus drug

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ganciclovir</span> Chemical compound

Ganciclovir, sold under the brand name Cytovene among others, is an antiviral medication used to treat cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alemtuzumab</span> Medication used to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)

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Claude H. Nash was CEO of Bloodstone Ventures plc. from 2007 to 2010. From 2004 to 2006 he was vice president, research and development at the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute. He previously cofounded, and was CEO and chairman of, ViroPharma Incorporated, a pharmaceutical company. Before founding ViroPharma, Nash was vice president of infectious disease and cancer research at the Schering-Plough Research Institute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fomivirsen</span> Antiviral drug

Fomivirsen is an antisense antiviral drug that was used in the treatment of cytomegalovirus retinitis (CMV) in immunocompromised patients, including those with AIDS. It was administered via intraocular injection.

<i>Human betaherpesvirus 5</i> Species of virus

Human betaherpesvirus 5, also called human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), is species of virus in the genus Cytomegalovirus, which in turn is a member of the viral family known as Herpesviridae or herpesviruses. It is also commonly called CMV. Within Herpesviridae, HCMV belongs to the Betaherpesvirinae subfamily, which also includes cytomegaloviruses from other mammals. CMV is a double-stranded DNA virus.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pleconaril</span> Antiviral drug

Pleconaril (Picovir) is an antiviral drug that was being developed by Schering-Plough for prevention of asthma exacerbations and common cold symptoms in patients exposed to picornavirus respiratory infections. Pleconaril, administered either orally or intranasally, is active against viruses in the Picornaviridae family, including Enterovirus and Rhinovirus. It has shown useful activity against the dangerous enterovirus D68.

A Cytomegalovirus vaccine is a vaccine to prevent cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection or curb virus re-activation in persons already infected. Challenges in developing a vaccine include adeptness of CMV in evading the immune system and limited animal models. As of 2018 no such vaccine exists, although a number of vaccine candidates are under investigation. They include recombinant protein, live attenuated, DNA and other vaccines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maribavir</span> Antiviral drug

Maribavir, sold under the brand name Livtencity, is an antiviral medication that is used to treat post-transplant cytomegalovirus (CMV). Maribavir is a cytomegalovirus pUL97 kinase inhibitor that works by preventing the activity of human cytomegalovirus enzyme pUL97, thus blocking virus replication.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pritelivir</span> Chemical compound

Pritelivir is a direct-acting antiviral drug in development for the treatment of herpes simplex virus infections (HSV). This is particularly important in immune compromised patients. Pritelivir is currently in Phase III clinical development by the German biopharmaceutical company AiCuris Anti-infective Cures AG.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Letermovir</span> Antiviral drug

Letermovir is an antiviral drug for the treatment of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections. It has been tested in CMV infected patients with allogeneic stem cell transplants and may also be useful for other patients with a compromised immune system such as those with organ transplants or HIV infections. The drug was initially developed by the anti-infective division at Bayer, which became AiCuris Anti-infective Cures AG through a spin-out and progressed the development to end of Phase 2 before the project was sold to Merck & Co for Phase 3 development and approval.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brincidofovir</span> Antiviral drug

Brincidofovir, sold under the brand name Tembexa, is an antiviral drug used to treat smallpox. Brincidofovir is a prodrug of cidofovir. Conjugated to a lipid, the compound is designed to release cidofovir intracellularly, allowing for higher intracellular and lower plasma concentrations of cidofovir, effectively increasing its activity against dsDNA viruses, as well as oral bioavailability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ionis Pharmaceuticals</span> Biotechnology company

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References

  1. ↑ "Symbol Lookup from Yahoo Finance". finance.yahoo.com.
  2. ↑ "Shire acquires ViroPharma for $4.2bn". Financier Worldwide. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  3. ↑ Staff (15 July 2008). "ViroPharma to Purchase Lev for $442.9M". Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News. GEN News Highlights. Mary Ann Liebert. ISSN   1937-8661 . Retrieved 26 September 2008.
  4. ↑ "Lev Pharmaceuticals Investor Relations". Lev Pharmaceuticals. Retrieved 8 April 2009.
  5. ↑ Kitamura, Makiko (11 November 2013). "Shire Buys ViroPharma for $4.2 Billion to Add Orphan Drug". Bloomberg.
  6. ↑ Pollack, Andrew (9 November 2005). "Crucial Antibiotic Rescues Biotech Maker's Finances". The New York Times . Retrieved 20 September 2007.
  7. ↑ "FDA GRANTS FAST-TRACK STATUS FOR VIROPHARMA'S MARIBAVIR". www.fdanews.com. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  8. ↑ "FDA grants fast track status for ViroPharma's Maribavir | health.am" . Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  9. ↑ ViroPharma:Maribavir Phase III Study Missed Goal;Shares Plunge Archived 12 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine , CNN Money, 9 February 2009
  10. ↑ Freundlich, Naomi (3 February 2002). "On the Trail of a Cure For the Common Cold". The New York Times . Retrieved 20 September 2007.
  11. ↑ Pollack, Andrew (20 March 2002). "F.D.A. Panel Opposes Drug Meant to Treat Cause of Colds". The New York Times . Retrieved 20 September 2007.
  12. ↑ "Picornaviruses and Schering-Plough" (PDF). Retrieved 23 December 2023.

Further references

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