Colon delivery system could cut statin doses

Oxford Pharmascience has picked up a delivery system from University College London (U.K.) that could cut statin doses fourfold by delivering the drugs right to the colon. As part of its Safestat program, Oxford Pharmascience will use the delivery system to reformulate, develop and commercialize new versions of Pfizer's ($PFE) atorvastatin and Merck's ($MRK) simvastatin, now both off-patent. The agreement, made through UCL Business, the university's IP licensing arm, is exclusive but terms were not disclosed. It follows a period of evaluation to establish the feasibility of the delivery system and the commercial viability of the products. Press release