A new gas designed to treat newborns with hypoxic respiratory failure (HRF) has won full approval from authorities in Australia.

Ikaria Holdings announced that the country's Therapeutic Goods Administration had given the firm the right to market INOmax nitric oxide in Australia, following its previous orphan drug designation.

The gas will be used to help babies get enough oxygen into their bodies, something that many premature and full-term babies can find difficult.

Immature lungs and high blood pressure are just two factors which can cause the condition to develop, which can prove fatal if doctors cannot find a way to make breathing easier for infants.

David Shaw, the chairman and chief executive officer of Ikaria, said that the firm's increasing presence in the international market is "expanding our ability to advance critical care around the globe".

Medical professionals who require access to medicines for their patients can obtain them through Masters, a global healthcare solutions provider which can distribute prescriptions drugs to more than 35 countries across the world.