Singapore: Australia-based Drawbridge Pharmaceuticals has been granted patent for its anesthetic formulation Phaxan in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Africa. The company has also received a Notice of Allowance from the US Patent and Trademark Office (US PTO) for US Patent.

Propofol is seen as the industry gold standard due to its predictable onset and recovery from anesthesia and sedation. However, propofol has some significant problems including: the lipid based preparation is easily contaminated and supports bacterial growth; it causes falls in blood pressure, depression of breathing, pain on injection, is incompatible with plastic containers and leads to lipid toxicity.

"Since the company was founded in 2011, it has been building a robust patent portfolio around its lead drug candidate, Phaxan, for global use in anesthesia and sedation. The granting of our patent in these countries not only adds significant value to the company, but allows us to take another step forward in our development efforts to bring Phaxan to patients who need better treatment options in critical care," said Dr Anthony Filippis, CEO at Drawbridge Pharmaceuticals.

"The case for the use of Phaxan in modern critical care in the OR and ICU is compelling. It is water-soluble, much safer with a wider therapeutic index than propofol, showing the same rapid onset and offset of action, but with none of the lipid issues. No other product on the market has that combination," said Prof Colin Goodchild, Chief Medical Officer of Drawbridge.

The anesthesia drugs market in the US is forecast to reach $7 billion by 2015 and the need for a for a new anesthetic that is both safe and effective continues to grow significantly with more than 80 million general anesthesia procedures performed annually in the US and Europe alone.