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Specialist pharmaceutical group ProStrakan’s ‘Sancuso’ patented skin patch has won approval from the US Food and Drug Administration.

Galashiels-based ProStrakan, says FDA approval should pave the way for a US launch this year for Sancuso, which offers to prevent chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting on cancer patients. Chief executive Dr Wilson Totten claims this and July’s recommendation for European approval of the fully-listed company’s Abstral treatment for cancer pain are ‘pivotal events’ in steering loss-making ProStrakan towards profits ‘in the next two years’.

Sancuso would be the first US product by the company, which says the potential market for the patch could be $1.3 billion (£726 million) in the USA alone. Meanwhile, Prostrakan, which lost £11.8 million in the first half of 2008 on sales up 26 per cent to £26.4 million, hopes to launch Abstral across Europe by the end of this year.

ProStrakan shares have been volatile, falling from 125.5p three years ago to 46p last November, before a rally that has taken them to 101.75p today, valuing the company at £204.76 million. They could now fare better than some others in the sector.

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ProStrakan	LSE	£174.07m	86.50p	1.50p
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Other company articles:
US approves ProStrakan patch			15/09/2008
ProStrakan targets USA			21/08/2008
Baron exits ProStrakan			29/12/2005