HEALTH CARE : SPI Gets Approval to Sell Virazole in Luxembourg

SPI Pharmaceutical Inc.’s drug Virazole is spreading like the flu.

The Costa Mesa drug manufacturer announced this week that it has received final approval to sell the drug in Luxembourg. Virazole, an anti-virus drug, will be used by doctors in that European country in aerosol form to treat patients with influenza A and B infections.

Symptoms of those flu viruses include fever, shivering, aching limbs, headache, sore throat and a persistent dry cough.

The company also said the Luxembourg Ministry of Health will allow doctors there to use aerosol Virazole for treating hospitalized infants suffering from a severe lower respiratory tract infection called respiratory syncytial virus. RSV is a highly contagious disease that attacks tens of thousands of infants a year and can lead to pneumonia or bronchiolitis.

Under a licensing agreement with Belgian drug maker Sanico N.V., Virazole will now be marketed to the public in three European countries as a treatment of the two types of flu. The drug, which is patented by SPI’s sister company, Viratek Inc. in Costa Mesa, is also sold in more than 40 countries in Europe, Asia and North and South America.