Alkermes (company)

Alkermes, Inc. NASDAQ: ALKS is a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts with manufacturing facilities in Wilmington, Ohio and Chelsea, Massachusetts. Alexander Rich, MD is the founder and director since 1987. The company focuses on drug delivery technologies, including "long-acting" or "extended release" formulations of injectable and inhaled drugs. The technology has currently been applied to "small molecule" type drugs, and peptide hormones. Typically, Alkermes applies its technology to an active ingredient owned by a partner company, although it is pursuing the development of at least one proprietary drug as well.

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Their main product is Risperdal Consta, which is a long acting version of Johnson & Johnson's Risperidone. The drug is an atypical antipsychotic used in the treatment of schizophrenia. On April 13, 2006 Alkermes and Cephalon, Inc. received Food and Drug Administration approval of Vivitrol (formerly Vivitrex) for the treatment of alcohol dependence .^[1]

Eli Lilly and Company is working with Alkermes to develop a new version of inhaled insulin for type 1 diabetics, and an extended release formulation of Parathyroid hormone to treat osteoporosis. Both companies are also collaborating with Amylin to develop and market a long-acting version of Amylin's Byetta called Exenatide LAR for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

From 1999 to 2004, Alkermes and Genentech marketed Nutropin Depot (long acting somatropin for growth hormone deficiency) , but the product was withdrawn due to high manufacturing costs. Currently, Alkermes and Lilly are developing an inhaled version of the hormone.

Independently, Alkermes is pursuing an inhaled version of epinephrine for anaphylaxis(allergic shock).

References

1. ^ "Monthly drug for alcoholism gets FDA approval", Reuters, April 13, 2006.