SciClone Zadaxin

Executive Summary

Thymosin alpha 1 receives approval in Italy as an influenza vaccine adjuvant, SciClone announces April 21. The firm's planned lead indication for Zadaxin in the U.S. and Europe will be as an interferon adjuvant for hepatitis C. SciClone is seeking to forge a marketing collaboration with one of the major interferon pharmaceutical manufacturers before launching a large U.S. and European Phase III trial in hepatitis C patients. Zadaxin is in Phase III for hepatitis B in Japan and is already marketed for that indication in several Asian countries. Originally a Roche compound, Zadaxin was licensed to Alpha 1 Biomedicals in the 1980s, which then sublicensed the product to SciClone for all markets excluding Italy, Spain and Portugal. SciClone acquired the sublicense for these three countries from the Italian firm Sclavo in 1997...