Cardiome Pharma Corp. recently filed a Marketing Authorization Application with the Saudi Food and Drug Authority for its intravenous heart medication BRINAVESS.
The drug is meant to normalize heart rhythms for patients experiencing atrial fibrillation, either naturally or as a byproduct of another heart procedure. Atrial fibrillation is described as a lack of coordination between the beating of the heart’s upper chamber and the rest of the heart, sometimes resulting in unusually fast heart beats. Citing the American Heart Association, Cardiome officials said atrial fibrillation is responsible for 15 to 20 percent of strokes, and can also lead to longterm heart damage.
“Cardiome is pleased that the MAA for intravenous vernakalant has been filed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” Cardiome’s Director of Regulatory Affairs Jonathan Mather said. “We remain committed to seeking new approvals for BRINAVESS worldwide to provide physicians access to this innovative drug to manage their AF patients.”
BRINAVESS was originally developed in collaboration with Merck. It was approved for use in Europe and Latin America in 2010.
Cardiome is a publicly traded company based in Vancouver. Its end-of-year revenue for 2014 was more than $30 million.
