XenoPort Snapshot
XenoPort sounds like something straight out of science fiction, but there's nothing fictional about XenoPort's job of improving drugs' ability to be absorbed by tissues in the body. The development firm uses genomics to identify transporter proteins. It then designs oral drug molecules to find and ride these transporters through the gastrointestinal tract to their destination. XenoPort began marketing its first drug in 2011 when it received FDA approval for its gabapentin enacarbil candidate, Horizant, to treat restless legs syndrome (RLS). XenoPort markets Horizant in the US with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). It is developing gabapentin enacarbil with Astellas Pharma in Japan, where it has not yet been approved.
