Efforts to find alternate uses for approved drugs is among the more creative and potentially valuable efforts in pharmaceutical research. A British Columbia outfit is among the active players in that field.
Aspreva Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NASDAQ: ASPV) uses a proprietary screening program to identify late stage and approved medicines that show potential for treating less common diseases. It then partners with the owners of those drugs to develop them for the new indications. The firm is currently conducting clinical trials to investigate the use of Hoffmann-La Roche's organ transplant drug CellCept in treating such autoimmune diseases as lupus nephritis and pemphigus vulgaris.
The company pleased investors last week, when it appointed J. William Freytag to be its new chairman and chief executive. Most recently, Freytag served as president, CEO and chairman of acquired biopharmaceutical firm Myogen.
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