Sugammadex Study First to Show Rapid Reversal of Profound Rocuronium-Induced Muscle Relaxation i...( Publication of Comparative Study ...),Health

Publication of Comparative Study Shows Sugammadex Provides Significantly Faster Reversal of Profound Rocuronium-Induced Muscle Relaxation than Neostigmine

KENILWORTH, N.J., Oct. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Schering-Plough Corp., (NYSE: SGP) today announced that a study published in the November 2008 issue of the medical journal, Anesthesiology (Vol. 109, No. 5)(1) demonstrated that sugammadex produced a significantly more rapid recovery from profound rocuronium-induced muscle relaxation than the conventional reversal agent neostigmine. Importantly, this is the first comparative study to demonstrate that rapid reversal of profound rocuronium-induced muscle relaxation is possible. In the study, the median time to recovery was 2.7 minutes in the sugammadex group versus 49.0 minutes in the neostigmine group.

Sugammadex is a novel selective relaxant binding agent that works in an entirely new and unique way to encapsulate the muscle relaxant molecule and render it inactive. Sugammadex is approved and marketed in the European Union as BRIDION(R).

"This study demonstrates that sugammadex is the first agent to permit rapid reversal of a profound level of rocuronium-induced neuromuscular blockade," said lead author R. Kevin Jones, M.D., attending anesthesiologist, Saddleback Memorial Medical Center, Laguna Hills, Calif. "This finding with sugammadex will likely have important clinical implications for how muscle relaxation is managed, providing anesthesiologists with greater control in maintaining the level of blockade necessary during surgery, while allowing for rapid recovery once surgery is completed."

The study, known as the Signal trial, was a Phase III, multicenter, randomized, parallel-group, safety-assessor
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