Medunik Canada to help Canadians with rare diseases

Quebec-based Medunik Canada, a unit of family-owned Groupe Pharmaceutique Boivin, has concluded a strategic collaboration agreement with QOL Medical of the USA. Under this accord, Medunik receives the exclusive Canadian rights to make available and distribute to patients and physicians two important therapies for individuals suffering from specific rare diseases: Sucraid (sacrosidase) and Ethamolin (ethanolamine oleate). Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Sucraid oral solution is an enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) for the treatment of genetically determined sucrase deficiency, which is part of congenital sucrase-isomaltase deficiency (CSID), a rare, chronic disease. CSID is usually diagnosed during infancy and there is currently no cure for the condition. The only current option to improve the Canadian patients' quality of life is removing sucrose completely and permanently from the diet and limiting starches high in amylopectin. Unfortunately, maintaining a sucrose-free diet is difficult and does not eliminate some symptoms such as watery diarrhea, abdominal pain and cramps. Sucraid, which is approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the USA, allows children with CSID to ingest limited amounts of sucrose.

Ethamolin is a mild sclerosing agent indicated for the treatment of patients with esophageal varices that have recently bled, to prevent rebleeding. Bleeding esophageal varices are a serious complication of liver disease and have poor outcome. Once the bleeding is stopped, varices can be treated with medicines and medical procedures. Although varices appear in the esophagus, they are caused by disease in the liver.