Rockwell gets Japanese patent for iron-delivery drug
05/24/2007
WIXOM, Mich.—Rockwell Medical Technologies Inc. said today it has received a Japanese patent for its proprietary anemia drug, Soluble Ferric Pyrophosphate (SFP).
The patent specially covers the “method and pharmaceutical composition for iron delivery administered in hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients,” according to Rockwell.
Rockwell manufactures and develops concentrates and specialty pharmaceuticals for end-stage renal disease patients.
SFP is designed to provide “physiological iron maintenance therapy” in ESRD patients by delivering iron through dialysate during dialysis treatment, according to Rockwell. Rockwell said it has licensed the global rights to SFP and its patents. The company is also in the process of seeking U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to market the therapy.
“This is another important patent approval for Rockwell,” Robert Chioini, Rockwell chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “Coupled with our U.S. and European patents, we have IP protection for SFP in the three largest ESRD markets in the world. We expect to fully capitalize on these markets.”
Japan has approximately 250,000 dialysis patients—second in the world to the United States, according to Rockwell. And the Japanese dialysis patient population is growing 6 percent each year.
Rockwell estimates the U.S. market for IV iron delivery to be approximately $450 million and the global market to be approximately $750 million.
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