Sanofi purchases Topaz for lice drug

Topaz Pharmaceuticals has been acquired by Sanofi-Pasteur, the vaccines unit of French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis, according to a report by the Philadelphia Business Journal published 3 February 2012.

This comes in advance of the FDA decision regarding approval of Ivermectin, a topical cream formulation which is currently undergoing late-stage testing. A decision regarding approval is expected in the next few weeks.

Ivermectin is described as a broad-spectrum antiparasitic agent which is thought to selectively target the cell-membrane. In vitro testing has shown high effectiveness even against permethrin-resistent head lice according to earlier in-vitro test results.