Ligand Drug OK’d in Europe

Luke Timmerman3/12/10

San Diego-based Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: LGND) said today that its partner, GlaxoSmithKline, has won clearance to start marketing a new drug for a platelet deficiency in Europe. The treatment, eltrombopag (Revolade), is for patients for idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura (ITP), a rare bleeding disorder in which the immune system attacks platelet cells that help people form clots. The drug, discovered by Ligand and developed by GSK, was approved in the U.S. in November 2008, and is marketed under the brand name Promacta.

Luke Timmerman is the National Biotech Editor of Xconomy, and the Editor of Xconomy Seattle. E-mail him at ltimmerman@xconomy.com or follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ldtimmerman.