In cooperation with Kos Pharmaceuticals, the company is developing extended-release niacin and lovastatin, and a New Drug Application was submitted in September, 2000. Applications for marketing approval are targeted for submission as early as 2004. More than half of the population of the Western World is overweight or obese with associated side effects of diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Currently, there is no entirely safe or effective treatment for obesity. Applications for marketing approval are targeted for submission as early as 2004.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States and Europe.
DuPont Pharmaceuticals is committed to the discovery and development of more effective and less toxic cancer therapeutics. In the first half of 2001 the company began clinical evaluations with new drugs for metastatic breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. These agents are focused on the fundamental molecular mechanisms that support the growth and survival of cancer cells. In the case of breast cancer the company is developing a drug that blocks the ability of the cancer cells to respond to growth stimulation caused by estrogens. In non-small cell lung cancer, the company has created molecules that selectively deliver lethal radiation to the tumor while sparing normal tissues.