Pharmion Corporation has received approval for intravenous (IV) administration of
Vidaza (azacitidine) for the treatment of all subtypes of MDS. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) formally notified the company of this approval on January 26, 2007. This expands the drug’s prior approval, which covered subcutaneous injection only. Vidaza can now be administered intravenously over a period of 10 to 40 minutes in a clinic, hospital, or physician’s office.
Intravenous Vidaza may give patients who were unable to tolerate subcutaneous injections an opportunity to try the drug. In earlier clinical trials, 35% of patients taking the drug subcutaneously had redness and inflammation of the skin at the injection site and 13% had other injection site reactions.
Pharmion Corporation has also received FDA approval of its application to test an oral form of Vidaza.
For further details, see Pharmion's
news release.