| Periostat
ok y'all, I just wanted to pass this along- I'm sure most of you haven't heard of this stuff yet...new to me anyway. I work for a Periodontist and we prescribe Periostat for our patients. It's given to reduce gum pocket size as it kills the bacteria that causes gum diesease. Anywhoo, we had a guy come out last week to discuss it with our staff and how great it is, well some how we got on the topic of acne and rosacea and he said it's been none to work on patients with acne/rosacea without the negative affects of other meds. So I found an article, see what you think. Worth a shot I think, doesn't sound like it could hurt anything.
NEWTOWN -- A biopharmaceutical company whose main product helps people maintain a healthy smile believes the same drug can also improve users' complexions.
CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc. learned of the potential side benefit of its gum-disease fighting drug Periostat by accident.
"What led us to this discovery was patients with periodontal disease who were coming back to their dentists and saying since they started taking the drug they were noticing their complexion was improving and their acne was improving," said Brian Gallagher, CollaGenex's chairman and chief executive officer.
CollaGenex decided to survey its 120-member sales force and found out virtually every person had heard an anecdote from a dentist about a patient whose acne or other skin condition had improved.
Last year, the company conducted a 60-patient study to measure Periostat's effectiveness in treating adults with acne. Patients taking Periostat experienced a greater than 50 percent reduction in the number of inflammatory lesions.
Gallagher said the company had some initial discussions with larger drug companies about licensing the rights to Periostat for use as a skin disease treatment. However, because CollaGenex has already cleared Food and Drug Administration hurdles for Periostat relating to manufacturing and toxicology, the company decided it would go after dermatological "indications" for Periostat on its own.
"Our analysis suggests that the clinical development programs required to pursue these indications will be relatively inexpensive," he said. "The costs will probably be just a couple of million dollars."
So, earlier this month, CollaGenex officially decided to expand into the billion-dollar dermatology market.
Acne affects an estimated 25 million Americans. Last year, spending on acne drugs exceeded $1.1 billion in the United States.
Periostat was approved by the FDA in September 1998. It is designed to be used as an adjunct treatment for gum disease along with regular cleaning and flossing. Periostat works by reducing the activity of the enzymes that destroy tooth and gum tissue.
While some off-label prescribing of Periostat for acne is already taking place, Gallagher expects sales to soar if an expanded use for the drug is approved by the FDA.
"The dental field is conservative," he said. "The dermatology field is a much more aggressive and progressive field. We think this is going to have a huge upside for the company."
Gallagher noted the drug also does not have the undesirable side effects associated with some acne medicines now on the market. A small percentage of people taking one acne medicine, Accutane, have suffered serious side effects, such as severe stomach pain, nausea and depression or mood changes.
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