Aggregated News
NitroMed Inc. is shutting down its effort to market and sell BiDil, the first drug approved for use in a single racial group.
BiDil entered the market in 2005 to great fanfare after it was cleared as a congestive heart failure treatment for African-Americans. But the rollout of BiDil was stalled by insurers concerned about its price and doctors who were skeptical that the drug, a branded combination of two generic drugs, was an improvement. Others complained the lackluster sales of BiDil were evidence of continuing racial gaps in the health-care system.
NitroMed, of Lexington, Mass., said it was discontinuing sales and promotional activities and eliminating 70 of the 90 jobs at the company. The company said it will continue to make BiDil available for patients. It also has retained investment-banking firm Cowen & Co. to advise it on strategic alternatives.
NitroMed is still trying to develop a new version of BiDil, one that is taken once a day rather than three times. It said it has received positive reaction to the new formulation from the U.S. Food and Drug...
BiDil entered the market in 2005 to great fanfare after it was cleared as a congestive heart failure treatment for African-Americans. But the rollout of BiDil was stalled by insurers concerned about its price and doctors who were skeptical that the drug, a branded combination of two generic drugs, was an improvement. Others complained the lackluster sales of BiDil were evidence of continuing racial gaps in the health-care system.
NitroMed, of Lexington, Mass., said it was discontinuing sales and promotional activities and eliminating 70 of the 90 jobs at the company. The company said it will continue to make BiDil available for patients. It also has retained investment-banking firm Cowen & Co. to advise it on strategic alternatives.
NitroMed is still trying to develop a new version of BiDil, one that is taken once a day rather than three times. It said it has received positive reaction to the new formulation from the U.S. Food and Drug...