FREIENBACH, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--EffRx Pharmaceuticals SA today announced that physicians in Malaysia and Singapore treating patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis have a new therapeutic option: buffered soluble alendronate (Binosto®). This novel therapeutic option, which is already available in fifteen countries worldwide, provides gold-standard fracture risk reduction and offers better upper gastrointestinal safety profile than reported for alendronate tablets.1-3
In both Malaysia and Singapore, Binosto® is marketed by Zuellig Pharma. For EffRx Pharmaceuticals SA, who has developed Binosto®, the launch in Southeast Asia marks another important milestone. “With the addition of Malaysia and Singapore, our geographic footprint grows significantly,” says EffRx Commercial Director Michael Schmid. “We are happy to have selected a strong and renowned local partner. While growth of Binosto® in our existing markets remains high, geographic expansion through strong local partnerships continues to be a key priority for Binosto® to bring the its promise to patients worldwide.”
The launch of Binosto® in Malaysia and Singapore will be followed in 2019 by launches in other Southeast Asian markets. For Zuellig Pharma, who holds the marketing rights in these countries, Binosto® presents a very exciting opportunity to add a unique flavor to the management of osteoporosis. “With its innovative properties and compelling efficacy and safety evidence, it can be part of many physicians’ toolkit for thousands of osteoporotic patients across Asia”, says Frederick Fong, Director Marketing Excellence (Asia) at Zuellig Pharma.
Data presented at this year’s WCO-IOF-ESCEO Congress and published in Osteoporosis International suggest that Binosto® is associated with higher persistence, i.e. better treatment adherence, than alendronate tablets.4 The same data also showed significantly fewer patients discontinuing Binosto® due to gastrointestinal adverse events – confirming the favorable GI safety profile of Binosto®.
About EffRx Pharmaceuticals
EffRx Pharmaceuticals is a commercial-stage pharmaceutical company, which focuses on developing and commercializing prescription medications for specialty and orphan indications. EffRx actively seeks collaboration opportunities with U.S. bio-pharmaceutical companies, which are looking to commercialize their products in Europe. EffRx can act as accelerator of EU go-to-market strategies and be a spring board for an initial international set-up in Switzerland.
About Zuellig Pharma
Zuellig Pharma is one of the largest healthcare services group in Asia. We provide world-class distribution, digital and commercial services to support the growing healthcare needs in this region. The company was started almost a hundred years ago and has grown to become a US$10 billion business covering 13 markets in Asia with over 10,000 employees. Our purpose is to make healthcare more accessible. Our people serve over 320,000 medical facilities in Asia and we work with over 1000 clients including the top 10 pharmaceutical companies in the world. More recently, we launched our Zuellig Health Solutions Innovation center to develop new services and address some pressing healthcare needs in Asia. Since then, our teams have been focused on creating data, digital and disease management solutions, supporting patients with chronic conditions and helping payers manage healthcare costs. We are also making headway in using big data to inform our decisions and those of our clients, on how to optimize for greater operational accuracy and efficiency.
About Binosto®
Binosto® (alendronate 70 mg effervescent tablets) is the first and only buffered solution for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. It reduces the risk of hip, spine, and non-spine fractures.1 The buffered solution with high acid-neutralizing capacity minimizes the risk of exposing the esophagus (in case of reflux) and the stomach to acidified alendronate.2,5 Binosto® is taken once a week as an easy-to-swallow, buffered solution with no risk of a tablet getting lodged in the esophagus. Binosto® has the potential to improve adherence to therapy4, thereby decreasing the risk of disabling fractures.
Disclaimer
Please refer to the official Binosto® prescribing information and approved indications, contraindications, and warnings in your country.
References
1. Black DM et al. Fracture Risk Reduction with Alendronate in Women
with Osteoporosis: The Fracture Intervention Trial. J Clin Endocrinol
Metab 2000;85:4118–4124.
2. Hodges LA et al. Modulation of gastric
pH by a buffered soluble effervescent formulation: A possible means of
improving gastric tolerability of alendronate. Int J Pharm
2012;432:57–62.
3. Hruska J et al. Upper Gastrointestinal Safety
with the Buffered Solution of Alendronate 70mg: Postmarketing
Experience. J Bone Miner Res 2017;32 (Suppl 1):S269. Available at http://www.asbmr.org/education/AbstractDetail?aid=e14d6b16-9338-4e96-b070-d744f2d208da.
Accessed October 16, 2018.
4. Giusti A et al. Persistence with the
buffered solution of alendronate 70 mg: prospective observational study.
Osteoporos Int 2018;29(S1):P853.
5. Binosto 70mg SPC. www.mhra.gov.uk;
accessed 16.10.2018.
