The company retains the option to continue to share development and promotion the product in exchange for a share of U.S. operating profits. The collaboration also includes development work on a small molecule for chronic bronchitis. Inspire has completed a phase I study for this molecule already, and the two partners plan to begin phase II development plans in early 2000. Inspire has a strong scientific rationale to support its development plans in the area of respiratory disease, said Nicholas J. Simon, vice president of business and corporate development at Genentech. This collaboration complements and strengthens our position in this therapeutic area.
Cystic fibrosis is the most common fatal inherited disease in Caucasians.
More than 30,000 people in the U.S. have the genetic mutation that causes the pulmonary disease. Life expectancy of cystic fibrosis patients averages 30 years, though this has increased in recent years due to treatments such as Genentech s Pulmozyme.