Tanabe Seiyaku Co. Ltd. is to launch an AIDS-related drug "Valixa Tablets 450 mg" (Generic Name:Valganciclovir hydrochloride) with indication for treatment of CMV retinitis in AIDS patients soon.

Valixa Tablets 450 mg is a pro-drug preparation of ganciclovir, which was developed by F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG (Basel, Switzerland). In clinical trials carried out overseas, it has proven to be highly efficacious in treatment of CMV retinitis (both induction treatment and maintenance treatment) in AIDS patients.

CMV retinitis is a syndrome which affects about 20 to 30 per cent of AIDS patients. It is also known to possess a high risk of blindness. Capsules and IV formulation of ganciclovir used to be mainstay treatment but they posed constraint on patients by giving them pill burden of 12 capsule per day or obliging them to be hospitalized for infusion.

Valixa Tablets 450 mg has remarkably improved bioavailability which is approximately ten times as much as that of ganciclovir oral preparation (Denosine Capsule 250) and led to equivalent clinical effects to that of ganciclovir injection. Through these characteristics, this product is believed to contribute much to improved QOL of patients by reducing daily pill burden, the company release said.