U.K.-based GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) said Friday it received approval to market its Revolade drug in Europe to treat a rare clotting disorder that can cause dangerous bleeding.

The treatment, also known as eltrombopag, was discovered through a research collaboration between Glaxo and U.S.-based Ligand Pharmaceuticals (LGND) and helps stimulate bone marrow into producing blood platelets in patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP).

ITP occurs when the immune system destroys platelet cells that help the blood clot and low platelet levels can trigger life-threatening bleeding. Patients with the condition are also more likely to experience bruising and bleeding and, in some cases, serious hemorrhages, which can be fatal.

"The European Commission has granted marketing authorization for Revolade for the oral treatment of reduced platelet count in adults," Glaxo said in a statement.

Its oral drug, which is also known as Promacta and is already approved in the U.S., will compete with Amgen's injectable product Nplate which won full European approval last year.

Eltrombopag has more than 10 years of remaining patent life in both the U.S. and Europe. Analysts expect the medicine to generate worldwide sales of $260 million in 2012, according to consensus forecasts from Thomson Pharma.

-By Marietta Cauchi, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 207 842 9241; marietta.cauchi@dowjones.com
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