Gemzar: profile and news

King Shares Look Unattractive Based On Generic Threats 06 Mar 2006
Key among the challenges facing King (nyse: KG - news - people ) is its lead drug Altace, an ACE inhibitor for hypertension, whose sales are declining against ... - Forbes

King Pharmaceuticals Reports Agreement on Dismissal of Altace(R) ... Feb 27, 2006
Cobalt had sought to market generic versions of Altace(R) (ramipril) before expiration of the '722 Patent and '856 Patent which relate to Altace(R) by filing ... - Finanzen.net,

King Pharmaceuticals Reports Agreement on Dismissal of Altace ... Feb 28, 2006
Cobalt had sought to market generic versions of Altace (ramipril) before expiration of the '722 Patent and '856 Patent which relate to Altace by filing an ... - ag-IP-news Agency,

King Pharmaceuticals Reports Year-End and Fourth-Quarter 2005 ... Feb 28, 2006
Inventory levels of Skelaxin(R) (metaxalone) and Altace(R) (ramipril) were each slightly higher than one month of estimated end-user demand as of the end of ... - PR Newswire (press release),

King Pharma plunges on weak sales, inventory troubles Feb 28, 2006
King attributed the sales shortfall in part to higher than expected inventory levels for its top-selling drugs Skelaxin and Altace due to inaccurate reporting ... - MarketWatch

King Pharmaceuticals posts 4Q loss Feb 28, 2006
Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH, and Cobalt Pharmaceuticals Inc., to dismiss pending litigation relating to the enforcement of patents of Altace, a treatment ... - BusinessWeek

King Pharmaceuticals Reports Year-End and Fourth-Quarter 2005 ... Feb 28, 2006
Inventory levels of Skelaxin® (metaxalone) and Altace® (ramipril) were each slightly higher than one month of estimated end-user demand as of the end of the ... - Yahoo! News (press release)

King Pharma Gets Clubbed Feb 28, 2006
...errors" by two major wholesalers for causing higher than expected inventories of the company's two biggest drugs, the blood pressure medication Altace and the ... - TheStreet.com

King to develop new formulations of heart drug Feb 21, 2006
After allowing Cobalt Pharmaceuticals a non-exclusive right to sell a generic version of its heart drug, Altace, King Pharmaceuticals has moved to extend its ... - Pharmaceutical Business Review

King Pharma posts quarterly net loss Feb 28, 2006
Sales of its heart drug Altace rose 64 percent to $150 million, but were adversely affected by $13 million due to wholesaler issues. ... - Jackson News-Tribune,

King Pharmaceuticals and Arrow International Limited and ... Feb 16, 2006
...collaboration with Arrow International Limited and certain of its affiliates (collectively, "Arrow") to commercialize novel formulations of ALTACE(R) (ramipril ... - PR Newswire (press release),

Drug Stocks Tempered By Lofty Expectations Mar 4, 2006
...analyst said that, although management continues to make the right decisions, uncertainty exists for the company's best-selling products, Altace and Skelaxin. ... - Forbes

UPDATE 2-King posts net loss, misses Wall Street targets Feb 28, 2006
...note. Sales of heart drug Altace rose 64 percent to $150 million, but suffered by $13 million because of wholesaler issues. Similarly ... - Reuters

CV Therapeutics' Ranexa May Have Trouble Meeting Street Targets Mar 2, 2006
Aceon has annual sales of less than $30 million compared with sales of $347 million for Altace, the leading angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor made by ... - Forbes

King Pharmaceuticals Hit By Uncertainty Mar 1, 2006
The Morgan Stanley analyst said uncertainty remains for the company's bestselling products, the cardiovascular drug Altace and Skelaxin, a muscle relaxer. ... - Forbes

(PRN) - James River Coal Company Announces Fourth Quarter 2005 ... Feb 27, 2006
...[+]. (PRN) - King Pharmaceuticals Reports Agreement on Dismissal of Altace(R) Patent Litigation ... [+. PRN) - Bloomberg TV Highlights From the Week of Feb. ... - Bolsamania.com,

Updates, advisories and surprises Feb 28, 2006
During the fourth quarter, King said, sales of Skelaxin and Altace were hurt by a total of $30 million because of "changes in wholesaler buying patterns. ... - Investor's Business Daily (subscription)

Dr. Peter Gott Feb 11, 2006
...(I believe he mentioned Altace.) He took it a second time, and it was still high. I do have a family history of high blood pressure. ... - Northwest Herald,

Generic Threats Loom For King Pharmaceuticals Feb 13, 2006
...news - people ) is currently in settlement discussions with Cobalt Pharmaceuticals concerning the latter’s patent challenge to King’s heart drug, Altace. ... - Forbes

Industry report Feb 6, 2006
He checked the price of Lipitor, used to control cholesterol, as well as what it cost to buy a five-pack of Lipitor, Altace for high blood pressure, Celebrex ... - Detroit Free Press,

(PRN) - Constellation Brands Conference Call to Discuss the ... Feb 16, 2006
...[+]. (PRN) - King Pharmaceuticals and Arrow International Limited and Affiliates Collaborate on New Formulations of ALTACE(R) ... [. PRN) - BMB Munai, Inc. ... - Bolsamania.com,

Medicare Price Hike Feb 16, 2006
That includes the cost of premiums and deductibles. Consumers Union looked at prices for five drugs: Lipitor, Celebrex, Altace, Nifedipine and Zoloft. ... - Syracuse Post Standard,

Medicare Rx survey: Some plans raise prices Feb 5, 2006
He checked the price of the cholesterol drug Lipitor, as well as what it cost to buy a five-pack of Lipitor; Altace for high blood pressure; Celebrex for joint ... - Arizona Daily Star,

(PRN) - Cardiac Science Corporation Schedules Fourth Quarter ... Feb 16, 2006
...[+]. (PRN) - King Pharmaceuticals and Arrow International Limited and Affiliates Collaborate on New Formulations of ALTACE(R) ... [. - Bolsamania.com,

Generics Erosion will Result in Slow Growth of Market to Treat ... Feb 1, 2006
However, overall market growth will be offset by patent expiries including the expiration of ramipril, Wyeth/King's Altace and Sanofi-Aventis's Tritace, which ... - PR Newswire (press release),

Novartis' Rasilez faces barriers to entry Jan 19, 2006
Rasilez will also have to compete against ACE inhibitors, such as Merck's Vasotec and Prinivil, AstraZeneca's Zestril, and Wyeth/King's Altace. ... - United Press International

Health | What’s in a name? Jan 26, 2006
This year, for example, patents will expire on the drugs Lamisil (an antifungal), Zoloft (which treats depression and anxiety) and Altace (for high blood ... - The State,

Seniors pleasantly surprised by plan's low drug costs Jan 24, 2006
..."It came out that with my three prescriptions (two heart medications, Altace and Toprol-XL, and a cholesterol medication, Vytorin) I had a very sizable savings ... - NorthJersey.com,

Advair may get a stronger warning label Jan 11, 2006
...our medicines. I take Lipitor for cholesterol, Norvasc, Altace and Toprol-XL for high blood pressure and Actos for diabetes. My ... - Daily Press,

Other information

Indication
For the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer , locally advanced (Stage IIIA or IIIB), or metastatic (Stage IV) non-small cell lung cancer and as first-line treatment for patients with adenocarcinoma of the pancreas

Pharmacology
Gemcitabine is an antineoplastic anti-metabolite. Anti-metabolites masquerade as purine or pyrimidine - which become the building blocks of DNA. They prevent these substances becoming incorporated in to DNA during the "S" phase (or DNA synthesis phase of the cell cycle), stopping normal development and division. Gemcitabine blocks an enzyme which converts the cytosine nucleotide into the deoxy derivative. In addition, DNA synthesis is further inhibited because Gemcitabine blocks the incorporation of the thymidine nucleotide into the DNA strand.

Mechanism Of Action
Gemcitabine inhibits thymidylate synthetase, leading to inhibition of DNA synthesis and cell death. Gemcitabine is a prodrug so activity occurs as a result of intracellular conversion to two active metabolites, gemcitabine diphosphate and gemcitabine triphosphate by deoxycitidine kinase. Gemcitabine diphosphate inhibits ribonucleotide reductase, the enzyme responsible for catalyzing synthesis of deoxynucleoside triphosphates required for DNA synthesis. Gemcitabine triphosphate (diflurorodeoxycytidine triphosphate) competes with endogenous deoxynucleoside triphosphates for incorporation into DNA.

Drug Category
Radiation-Sensitizing Agents; Immunosuppressive Agents; Antivirals; Antimetabolites; Antineoplastic Agents; ATC:L01BC05

Brand Names/Synonyms
CCRIS 8984; DDFC; Dfdc; GEO; Gemcin; Gemcitabina [Inn-Spanish]; Gemcitabine; Gemcitabine Hcl; Gemcitabine Hydrochloride; Gemcitabine [Usan:Ban:Inn]; Gemcitabinum [Inn-Latin]; Gemtro; Gemzar

Dosage Forms
lyophilized powder for injection

Absorption
100%

Interactions
-->Interactions for Gemcitabine:

No specific drug interaction studies have been conducted. For information on the pharmacokinetics of Gemzar and cisplatin in combination, see Drug Interactions under CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY section.

Chemical IUPAC Name
4-amino-1-[3,3-difluoro-4-hydroxy-5-(hydroxymethyl)tetrahydrofuran-2-yl]-1H-pyrimidin-2-one

Chemical Formula
C9H11F2N3O4

Half Life
short infusions ranged from 32 to 94 minutes, and the value for long infusions vary from 245 to 638 minutes, depending on age and gender

Drug Type
Approved Drug

# Accession No
APRD00201

CAS Registry Number
95058-81-4