Janssen Pharmaceutica received the Galenus Price for its treatment against tuberculosis, Sirturo. The Galenus Prize is yearly awarded by the Artsenkrant and can be considered as the Belgian Nobel Prize for pharmacology. The award was handed over by Health Minister Maggie De Block.
“This innovative antibiotic is the first therapeutic treatment that has a mechanism of action, which is different from the one that has been used for several decades for treatment of a severe form of drug-resistant tuberculosis,” says the spokesman of Janssen. The drug provides a treatment to patients who have no other options.
“The need for an efficient and safe new drug is high,” says Dr. Prayen of the CHU Saint-Pierre in Brussels. “Sirturo is the first drug in forty years that specifically focuses on MDR-TB, a multidrug-resistant form of tuberculosis. It’s a big step forward, but compliance with drug therapy and pharmacovigilance are increasingly important.”
Two Galenus Prices exist. One honors the most innovative drug that was placed on the market last year, the other one praises a young scientist who realized a revolutionary work that can contribute to the development of a new drug.
