BTG gains US approval for kidney drug

BTG, the specialist pharma company, says it has won approval in the US for its Voraxaze drug.

The drug helps patients who cannot get rid of a chemical called methotrexate from their bodies, usually as a result of impaired kidney function.

It works by breaking down methotrexate into its inactive metabolites which are then eliminated from the body by routes other than the kidney (primarily the liver).

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This will be particularly helpful to people undergoing chemotherapy in which methotrexate is used.

Some patients treated with methotrexate develop impaired kidney function, which leads to the accumulation of toxic levels of methotrexate in the blood and puts them at risk of additional toxicity.

Louise Makin, Chief Executive of BTG, commented: "Voraxaze is the first product BTG has taken through to approval in the US and we look forward to its launch over coming months."

The Chief Medical Officer, Guenter R. Janhofer, added "In the clinical trials which led to approval, patients achieved rapid and sustained reductions in plasma methotrexate concentrations."

BTG had a storming 2011, and has gained 43% in the last 12 months.

BS