Cetrorelix progresses to full development in Solvay Pharmaceuticals for the treatment of Endometriosis in women

SOLVAY PHARMACEUTICALS has decided to undertake full Phase III development with cetrorelix for the treatment of endometriosis in women.  Cetrorelix is a gonadotrophin releasing hormone antagonist (GnRH antagonist, also known as LHRH antagonist or luteinising hormone releasing hormone antagonist) licensed from AETERNA ZENTARIS.  Phase II clinical studies in endometriosis have demonstrated promising benefits and a good safety and tolerability profile.  Full development is expected to allow registration submissions to be made in 2008 with first launches from 2009.

SOLVAY PHARMACEUTICALS has an established franchise in women’s health and cetrorelix has the potential to swell this with a new indication for which there is considerable clinical need.  Both patients and their doctors want new and better treatments for endometriosis and Solvay Pharmaceuticals is aiming to meet this expectation.

The active ingredient in cetrorelix is a modified decapeptide manufactured by PEPTISYNTHA, a Brussels, Belgium company owned by SOLVAY PHARMACEUTICALS.

SOLVAY PHARMACEUTICALS is the pharmaceuticals entity in SOLVAY.  It is a research driven pharmaceutical company that seeks to fulfill carefully selected, unmet medical needs in the therapeutic areas of cardiology, gastroenterology, mental health and gynecology/andrology. It currently employs nearly 8,000 people.

SOLVAY is an international chemical and pharmaceutical group with headquarters in Brussels. It employs some 30000 people in 50 countries.  In 2004 its consolidated sales amounted to EUR 7.9 billion generated by its three activity sectors: Chemicals, Plastics and Pharmaceuticals. Solvay is listed on the Euronext 100 index of top European companies. Details are available at www.solvay.com.

Note to the editors :
Endometriosis is a condition in which endometrial cells, normally found only inside the uterus as its lining cells, ‘escape’ to other places.  They can embed and survive outside the uterus, typically within the cavity lining the abdomen.  They can cause abdominal pain and involuntary infertility. There is a high unmet clinical need, as current treatments have unfavourable profiles and are not suitable for long term use or have relatively low efficacy.  It is estimated that around 8% of women will be affected by endometriosis at some time in their life.