Seattle, May 25 Monitoring the level of CellCept (mycophenolate mofetil) in a patient's blood in the months following an organ transplant may enable physicians to identify the precise amount of drug needed by each patient to prevent organ rejection without increasing toxicity, thereby optimizing efficacy and tolerability of the drug over time. According to an analysis of six-month data presented this week at the American Transplant Congress (ATC), using therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) to personalize CellCept therapy appears to be feasible and well-tolerated in kidney transplant patients, enabling physicians to control the level of active immunosuppression in a patient's system.

TDM for CellCept is gaining interest from the transplant community, as physicians increasingly turn to next-generation treatment regimens that minimize the use of kidney toxic drugs such as calcineurin inhibitors (CNI) and increasingly rely on therapies like CellCept.

"Our six-month data show that TDM with CellCept is feasible and is a well-tolerated approach to treatment in kidney transplant patients," said Professeur Yann Le Meur, Service de Nphrologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Dupuytren in France.

CellCept is the leading immunosuppressant approved for the prevention of organ rejection in patients receiving kidney, heart and liver transplants in combination with cyclosporine and corticosteroids. It has been used in clinical practice for ten years with more than four million prescriptions filled in the United States. CellCept works to suppress the immune system and prevent organ rejection. The FDA approved dosage for CellCept for adult kidney transplant recipients is 2 g daily.

"To optimize use of CellCept in next-generation immunosuppressive regimens, we have initiated the large-scale OptiCeptTM study to evaluate TDM strategies. The goal is to minimize toxicity and maximize efficacy of CellCept-containing regimens," said Rober
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25-May-2005

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