The patent is the company’s 13th US patent and its second patent issued for the treatment of stroke.
“Presently there are limited treatment options for acute stroke victims,” stated Dr Albert Friesen, Medicure’s president and CEO. “The stroke market represents a significant opportunity for Medicure, and this patent strengthens our intellectual property portfolio in this key therapeutic area.”
A stroke is a sudden loss of brain function. It is caused by an interruption of the flow of blood to the brain (an ischemic stroke) or the rupture of blood vessels in the brain (a hemorrhagic stroke), which in turn causes brain cells in the affected area to die.
Stroke is the third most common cause of death in the US, with only heart disease and cancer ranking higher. Tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) is the most effective FDA-approved drug to treat ischemic stroke but most stroke patients are not treated with t-PA because it must be administered within three hours of a stroke to be effective.