NEW YORK, NY (Sept. 20, 2004) — Pfizer Inc. and Eyetech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced this week that the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has accepted the filing of their marketing authorization application for Macugen (pegaptanib sodium injection), the first in a new class of medicines for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
The companies also announced that they have completed the filing of a new drug application for Macugen in Canada, where it has been given priority review, and have begun clinical trials with the medicine in Japan.
The AMD Alliance International estimates that 500,000 new cases of neovascular AMD are diagnosed annually worldwide. The disease is said to be the leading cause of severe vision loss in patients over 50 years of age in the developed world.
Under the terms of the Pfizer/Eyetech collaboration agreement, Pfizer will market Macugen for the prevention and treatment of diseases of the eye and related conditions outside the United States, and pay Eyetech a royalty on net sales. The two companies will co-market the drug in the United States. Macugen currently is under priority review with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
Pfizer discovers, develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines for humans and animals.
Eyetech Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company that specializes in the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics to treat diseases of the eye.
