Salix receives patent for IBS treatment

RALEIGH, N.C. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent to Salix Pharmaceuticals for a drug to treat irritable bowel syndrome, Salix said Thursday.

The patent, 7,718,608, will protect the drug Xifaxan (rifaximin) until August 2019. Salix is producing and marketing the drug under license from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

“The issuance of the ‘608 patent is yet another example of how we have strengthened the intellectual property protection for rifaximin over the past 18 months,” Salix CEO Carolyn Logan said. “We view patent protection as an essential component of our product life-cycle management strategy to protect the indications in development as well as the products in our portfolio.”

Salix’s announcement comes the day after Soligenix received a patent for beclomethasone dipropionate, also for IBS.