Pipex Pharmaceuticals : FDA Orphan Drug Designation For Oral TTM For Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF)

May 12, 2008 -- Pipex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMEX: PP), a specialty pharmaceutical company developing innovative late-stage drug candidates for the treatment of neurologic and autoimmune diseases, announced that it has received an Orphan Drug designation for oral tetrathiomolybdate (oral TTM) from the FDA for the treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), a deadly pulmonary disease with no FDA-approved therapy.

IPF is a fatal respiratory disease characterized by progressive loss of lung function due to extensive fibrosis of lung tissues that are essential for respiration and life. According to the Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis, IPF affects an estimated 128,000 patients in the US, including 48,000 new patients per year, and results in approximately 30,000 deaths in the US annually, more than the number of US deaths annually from either breast or prostate cancer. Currently, there are no FDA-approved therapies for IPF. The standard of care for IPF patients is high-dose corticosteroids and immunosuppressants, which have numerous side effects that increase patient morbidity... Pipex's Press Release -