Sequus Gets First Approval For Doxil

Sequus Pharmaceuticals has been granted approval by the US Food and Drug Administration to market its anticancer drug Doxil (doxorubicin HCl liposome injection) for the treatment of Kaposi's sarcoma in people with AIDS whose cancer has progressed on prior chemotherapy or who are intolerant to such therapy.

Doxil has a circulating half-life of 50 hours, compared to just 10 minutes with conventional doxorubicin. This property is thought to lead to accumulation of the drug in newly-vascularizing tumors.

This is the first product to be approved which Sequus (formerly Liposome Technology Inc) will market itself. Amphotec/Amphocil (liposomal amphotericin B) is being marketed in the UK by licensee Zeneca Pharmaceuticals and has also been approved in three other European countries.