 | |
| Company type | PublicNASDAQ Biotechnology Index |
|---|---|
| Nasdaq: VPHM | |
| Industry | Healthcare,Biotechnology,Pharmaceutical company |
| Founded | Exton, Pennsylvania,U.S. (1994) |
| Founder | Claude H. Nash Mark A. McKinlay Marc S. Collett Johanna A. Griffin Guy D. Diana |
| Defunct | 2014 |
| Headquarters | Exton, Pennsylvania,U.S. |
Key people | Vincent Milano (Chairman and CEO) |
| Products | Vancocin |
| Revenue | 132,417,000USD (2005) |
| 88,145,000USD (2005) | |
| 113,705,000USD (2005) | |
Number of employees | 232[1] |
| Website | www.viropharma.com |
ViroPharma Incorporated was apharmaceutical company that developed and sold drugs that addressed serious diseases treated by physician specialists and in hospital settings. The company focused on product development activities onviruses and human disease, including those caused bycytomegalovirus (CMV) andhepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. It was purchased byShire in 2013, with Shire paying around $4.2 billion for the company in a deal that was finalized in January 2014.[2] ViroPharma was a member of theNASDAQ Biotechnology Index and theS&P 600.
The company had strategic relationships withGlaxoSmithKline,Schering-Plough, andSanofi-Aventis. ViroPharma acquired Lev Pharmaceuticals in a merger in 2008.[3][4]
ViroPharma Incorporated was founded in 1994 byClaude H. Nash (Chief Executive Officer), Mark A. McKinlay (Vice President, Research & Development), Marc S. Collett (Vice President, Discovery Research), Johanna A. Griffin (Vice President, Business Development), and Guy D. Diana (Vice President, Chemistry Research.) None of the founders are still with the company.
In November 2014,Shire plc acquired ViroPharma for $4.2 billion.[5]
Vancocin Pulvules HCl: licensed fromEli Lilly in 2004.[6] Oral Vancocin is anantibiotic for treatment ofstaphylococcalenterocolitis andantibiotic associatedpseudomembranous colitis caused byClostridioides difficile.
Maribavir is anoralantiviral drug candidate licensed fromGlaxoSmithKline in 2003 for theprevention and treatment of humancytomegalovirus disease inhematopoietic stem cell/bone marrow transplant patients. In February 2006, ViroPharma announced that the United StatesFood and Drug Administration (FDA) had granted the companyfast track status for maribavir.[7][8]
In March 2006, the company announced that aPhase II study with maribavir demonstrated thatprophylaxis with maribavir displays strong antiviral activity, as measured bystatistically significant reduction in the rate of reactivation of CMV in recipients ofhematopoietic stem cell/bone marrow transplants. In anintent-to-treat analysis of the first 100 days after the transplant, the number of subjects who required pre-emptive anti-CMV therapy wasstatistically significantly reduced (p-value = 0.051 to 0.001) in each of the maribavir groups compared to theplacebo group (57% forplacebo vs. 15%, 30%, and 15% for maribavir 100 mg twice daily, 400 mg daily, and 400 mg twice daily, respectively).
ViroPharma conducted aPhase III clinical study to evaluate theprophylactic use for the prevention of cytomegalovirus disease in recipients ofallogeneicstem cell transplant patients. In February 2009, ViroPharma announced that the Phase III study failed to achieve its goal, showing no significant difference between maribavir and a placebo in reducing the rate of CMV disease.[9]
Oral pleconaril was ViroPharma's first compound, licensed fromSanofi in 1995. Pleconaril is active against viruses in thepicornavirus family. ViroPharma's first indication was forenteroviralmeningitis, but that indication was abandoned when theclinical trials did not demonstrate efficacy.
In 2001, ViroPharma submitted a New Drug Application of pleconaril to the FDA for thecommon cold.[10] On 2002-03-19, the FDA Antiviral Advisory Committee recommended that the company had failed to show adequate safety, and the FDA subsequently issued a not-approvable letter.[11]
In November 2004, ViroPharma licensed pleconaril toSchering-Plough,[12] who are developing an intranasal formulation for thecommon cold andasthma exacerbations. (Schering-Plough Development Pipeline). In August 2006, Schering-Plough started aPhase II clinical trial.
