Before the approval of deferiprone, patients with thalassemia had to undergo eight- to twelve-hour long overnight injections directly into their stomach. They go into heart failure and they die, in front of our eyes.”Tricta took notice of a group of scientists from London’s King’s College, who created a drug called deferiprone. In 1996, ApoPharma’s Michael Spino asked if Tricta would assist them in developing the drug. In 1989, Toronto haematologist Nancy Olivieri began to study the drug. Apotex tried to block her from telling patients about her concerns, noting that she had signed a confidentiality agreement.

Source: National Post June 08, 2017 02:48 UTC