Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals (P&GP), a subsidiary of The Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG), and Institut Pasteur today announced an agreement under which P&GP will develop and seek market authorization for drug candidate EFD, a new type of immuno-modulator for the treatment of asthma and other allergic disorders, stemming from a joint research collaboration between Institut Pasteur and Procter & Gamble in France.
Press release
Paris, september 30, 2004
Asthma is estimated to affect around 200 million people worldwide and can sometimes be a severe and potentially fatal disease. The prevalence of the disease is increasing, especially among children. Today there is no cure for asthma.
In pre-clinical models, EFD inhibited allergen-induced airway hyperresponsiveness by regulating the immune response, and it inhibited the release of cytokines and cells associated with allergies for more than a month. If fully successful in clinical trials and approved by regulatory bodies, EFD could offer patients a breakthrough prophylactive treatment for their asthma attacks.
Under the agreement, Institut Pasteur has granted P&GP an exclusive worldwide license to develop, manufacture, and commercialize EFD. P&GP will begin the pre-clinical evaluation of EFD for the treatment of asthma.
About Institut Pasteur
Institut Pasteur is a non-profit private foundation which contributes to the prevention and treatment of disease through research, education, and public health activities, in France and throughout the world. On its campus in Paris, it comprises more than 2,500 staff in 12 scientific departments, made up of more than 130 specialist units and research laboratories dealing with more than half of all infectious diseases, and others working in particular in the fields of immunology, neuro-sciences, cancers, and genetics. The Institut Pasteur has a world-wide reputation for its ground-breaking research on infectious agents, immunology, molecular biology, and for the discovery of the AIDS virus in 1983, and its scientists have been distinguished with eight Nobel prizes and a great number of other international prizes. www.pasteur.fr
About Procter and Gamble
Two billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the largest and strongest portfolios of trusted, quality brands, including Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Bounty®, Pringles®, Folgers®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Actonel®, Olay® and Clairol Nice 'n Easy®. The P&G community consists of nearly 98,000 employees working in almost 80 countries worldwide including 24,000 people in 17 countries in Western Europe. Please visit www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.
Contact press
Procter & Gamble
Isabelle Merlay - 06 88 20 06 97 - merlay.i@pg.com
Institut Pasteur
Nadine Peyrolo - 01 45 68 81 47 - npeyrolo@pasteur.fr
