P.M. BRIEFING : Du Pont to Market Soviet Drug
The Du Pont Co. announced today that it has received government approval to market the first Soviet drug licensed and clinically developed by an American pharmaceutical company.
The company said the Food and Drug Administration agreed to permit the use of Ethmozine for the treatment of abnormal and life-threatening heart rhythms known as ventricular arrhythmias.
These irregular heartbeats are caused by heart attack, coronary artery blockage and other disorders and are blamed for hundreds of thousands of deaths each year.
Dr. John Mullane, director of drug development for Du Pont, said the drug was discovered in the late 1960s in Moscow and has been available in the Soviet Union for about 18 years.
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