Oscient gets wider approval for Factive

Oscient Pharmaceuticals Corp. said today it has gotten US regulatory approval for wider use of its Factive tablets as a pneumonia treatment.

The Waltham biopharmaceutical company said the Food and Drug Administration has approved Factive for the five-day treatment of community-acquired pneumonia of mild to moderate severity.

Oscient said it first launched Factive for the seven-day treatment of community-acquired pneumonia and for the five-day treatment of acute bacterial exacerbations of chronic bronchitis in 2004.

To date, the company said, about 1 million patients worldwide have been treated with Factive.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)