Convivia by Bennu / Raptor Pharmaceuticals Corp. (Page 2 of 4)

Is convivia still being developed and how long before it hits the market?

Hi All,

New to this forum officially but have been following the progress of Convivia for some time now. Anyway, I have previously received a response from a representative at Uni Pharma, but have since lost it. Anyway, here is an updated response as of 9th June 2011 (Today) that I recieved. It is copied and pasted below.

My email to them:

To Whom it may concern,

I have been following the progress of Convivia as close as possible via the internet community in which many people like myself are affected and are in need of the product. I would like to know where the product stands in regards to the finalization of it being available to the public. I live in North America, which in a prior response I was told it is going to be only available in Asia, but am still curious when and where exactly the product will be available. Thank you in advance for your response.

Their response:
Dear Mike:

Many thanks for your interest and inquiry on Convivia™.

Since 2010, under the licensing agreement from Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp., Uni Pharma Co., Ltd. has been diligently working on the clinical development and regulatory registration in preparation for the commercial launch of this exciting product.

Development progress of Convivia™ is on time as scheduled.  At this point, no foreseeable difficulties or un-resolvable challenges are in sight.   Base on current project status, and the tremendous commitment and resources devoted from the management of both Raptor and Uni Pharma, we are confident that Convivia™ will be commercially available in the near future.

Your patience is greatly appreciated, and thanks again for your interest in Convivia™!

Sincerely Yours,

Uni Pharma Co., Ltd.

.

The good thing is we have gotten responses. If we keep on them, they will know there is a market in North America, because my last response pretty much said they only have the rights to sell it in Asia, which would not be good for us.

Did anyone get any news or updates?

is there any update? There is no news on raptors pharma's site. Anyone from korea?

We still don't know when Convivia is gonna be commercially available in Taiwan, dying to have a clear and definitive date! No Red Face Formula, I found it too complicated for a 'normal' lifestyle (I just want to drink not have to go through a marathon training!). I think it's 100% refundable within 60 days, so give it a shot, but don't expect a miracle you already using half of what they offer!

By the way, any idea on the timeframe when they say " available in the near future"?

Posted on Raptor Quarterly report:

"Convivia(TM) is our proprietary oral formulation of 4-methylpyrazole, or 4-MP, intended for the potential treatment of acetaldehyde toxicity resulting from alcohol consumption in individuals with ALDH2 deficiency, which is an inherited disorder of the body's ability to breakdown ethanol, commonly referred to as alcohol intolerance. 4-MP is presently marketed in the US and E.U. in an intravenous form as an anti-toxin. Convivia(TM) is designed to lower systemic levels of acetaldehyde (a carcinogen) and reduce symptoms, such as tachycardia and flushing, associated with alcohol consumption by ALDH2-deficient individuals. Convivia(TM) is a capsule designed to be taken approximately 30 minutes prior to consuming an alcoholic beverage.

In 2008, we completed a Phase 2a dose escalation clinical trial of oral 4-MP with ethanol in ALDH2 deficient patients. The study results demonstrated that the active ingredient in Convivia(TM) significantly reduced heart palpitations (tachycardia), which are commonly experienced by ALDH2 deficient people who drink, at all dose levels tested. The study also found that the 4-MP significantly reduced peak acetaldehyde levels and total acetaldehyde exposure in a subset of the study participants who possess specific genetic variants of the liver ADH and ALDH2 enzymes. We believe that this subset represents approximately one-third of East Asian populations.

In June 2010, we entered into an exclusive agreement with Uni Pharma Co., Ltd., or Uni Pharma to commercialize Convivia(TM) in Taiwan. Under terms of the agreement, we will grant to Uni Pharma an exclusive license under all relevant . . ."

I have contacted Raptor multiple times and finally moved onto contacting Uni-Pharma (weekly until I heard back).

On February 14th I received a reply from the Business Development Manager who vaguely said that the project is going smoothly, however there are no estimated timelines at this point.

Frustrating to say the least but at least I now have an actual email contact and not a general inquiry address/form.

Still nothing. I email the guy almost monthly and he keeps saying as soon as they come up with a timeline/timeframe, they'll let me know. They couldn't even give me a ballpark...weeks, months, years... I feel like I should be searching for esophageal cancer treatments at this rate. How disappointing for them just to sit on a medication that has already reached stage 2 in the US.

It's sad news...but I am glad we have a general timeframe! Good work! Now we just wait I guess...

Dear sir,

Thank you for your interested about Convivia. Yes, this product is still under development. Due to regulatory process is based on government review, this product will not be available before 2015.

Thank you for your patient and understanding.

All the best
Terry Lin

Pharmacist
Uni Pharma Co., Ltd

SO BASICALLY CONVIVIA WON'T BE SOLD UNTIL 2015.... SO DISAPPOINTING BUT RATHER LATE THAN NEVER RIGHT

evaluategroup(dot)com website shows it to be available in Japan.  Go to their site and do a search on Convivia.