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Biomedica Foscama

ADVANCES IN PARENTERAL NUTRITION RESEARCH AND PRACTICE PRESENTED AT 22ND ESPEN CONGRESS

Business Editors/ Health & Medical Writers

FERENTINO, Italy, October 10th, 2000 - The 22nd Congress of the European Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ESPEN) was held September 9-13, 2000 in Madrid, Spain with the participation of more than 3400 delegates  coming from 75 countries. BIOMEDICA FOSCAMA, among other health care companies, sponsored this event designed to disseminate comprehensive information on the state-of-the-art of clinical nutrition. A range of topics from pharmaceutical nutrition and nutrient metabolism to specific nutritional issues in several clinical conditions have been addressed at the scientific sessions.

The results of an European multicentre study about the prevalence of bone disease in patients on home parenteral nutrition were illustrated by Dr. Loris Pironi (Bologna, Italy). The study demonstrated that bone disease is present in almost all these patients, and it is of a severe degree in about half. In his conclusions, Dr. Pironi stressed, among other things, the need for an adequate calcium and phosphorus (P) intake for these patients. Relevant clinical data on patients receiving total parenteral nutrition (TPN) were also presented by Dr. J. Llop (Hospitalet, Spain), who confirmed previous findings about the occurrence of hypophosphataemia as a common metabolic complication in these patients. He concluded that commercialized fat emulsions do not provide enough phosphate to avoid hypophosphataemia in most of the evaluated patients.
Taken together, these findings suggest that the commonly accepted P needs of patients in TPN are underestimated: therefore, an organic source of P such as Esafosfina® (D-fructose-1,6-diphosphate, FDP) may represent a safe and effective means for the P supplementation of patients in TPN, thanks to its high physicochemical compatibility and superior stability within TPN admixtures. Further benefits of FDP stem from its ability to improve nitrogen balance and promote glucose utilization.

A symposium on 'Oxidative stress and nutrition' highlighted the potential importance of restoring the normal oxidant/antioxidant balance in intensive therapy unit patients, most often presenting low levels of endogenous antioxidants. The intravenous supplementation with TAD® (reduced glutathione) is likely to decrease the peroxidative stress of these patients, and this will be assessed in a planned clinical study sponsored by Biomedica Foscama to be conducted in UK.

Biomedica Foscama is an Italian pharmaceutical company established in 1947, with a staff of 190 people, including 90 reps visiting hospitals and care units, GPs and  specialists. In 2000 domestic and international (China and other countries) turnover will amount to 21,691,190 €. Biomedica Foscama is committed in research, manufacturing and marketing of prescription drugs in CNS, CV, GI/Metabolism areas. The main currently marketed products are Esafosfina® (i.v. applied d-fructose-1,6-diphosphate for the treatment of hypophosphatemia and phosphate depletion), Tad® (injectable reduced glutathione as detoxicant), Irrodan® (buflomedil HCl by oral route for peripheral vascular diseases), Ursolac® (oral ursodeoxycholic acid for the dissolution of gallbladder stones), plus a number of licensed high-value CNS drugs (alprazolam, zolpidem, sertraline, metoprolol ) co-marketed in Italy with multinational companies (Pharmacia&Upjohn, Sanofi-Synthelabo, Pfizer, Astra-Zeneca).
The Company facilities are equipped to manufacture sterile injectables as lyophilized powders and ready-to-use solutions, with the availability of a remarkably large freeze drying production line.
The Biomedica Foscama Research Center has originated a number of NCEs under development including raxofelast (a vitamin E-like antioxidant, under clinical investigation for the treatment of vascular complications of diabetes mellitus) and midaxifylline (an highly selective and orally bioavailable xanthine A1-adenosine antagonist in preclinical trials).