By
a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health & Medicine Week Mapi
Pharma Ltd. ("Mapi" or the "Company"), a developer of high-barrier to
entry and high value-added generic drugs that include complex active
pharmaceutical ingredients ("APIs"), formulations and life cycle
management ("LCM") products that target large markets, announced that it
was granted a United States patent covering the process for the
preparation of Fingolimod, a drug currently marketed by Novartis under
the trade name Gilenya. Novartis reported sales of Fingolimod of $1,934
million in 2013, representing a 62.0% increase from 2012. With the
issuance of this patent, Mapi intends to develop a generic version of
Fingolimod for sale once Novartis loses its marketing exclusivity,
commencing as early as 2017 in certain markets (see also Pharmaceutical
Companies).
U.S.
Patent Application No. 13/881,961 is titled Intermediate Compounds and
Processes for the Preparation of Fingolimod. Fingolimod is an
immunomodulating drug, approved for treating multiple sclerosis.
Fingolimod is a sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor modulator, which
sequesters lymphocytes in lymph nodes, preventing them from contributing
to an autoimmune reaction.
