


Healthcare Industry News: Akorn
News Release - October 11, 2007
Akorn, Inc. Signs an Exclusive Licensing, Development and Supply Agreement with Sofgen Pharmaceuticals
BUFFALO GROVE, Ill.--(HSMN NewsFeed)--Akorn, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKRX ) today announced that it has signed an exclusive licensing, development and supply agreement with Sofgen Pharmaceuticals, a privately-held company located in Sunrise, Florida. The agreement is intended to develop an ANDA oral drug product for women's healthcare. The current market size is approximately $115 million, according to recent IMS sales data. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.Sofgen will be responsible for development and manufacturing of the orally administered drug product. Akorn will be responsible for the regulatory submission, marketing and distribution in the United States and Puerto Rico. The two companies are expected to begin a pivotal Bioequivalence (BE) study in October 2007 with a projected launch date in late 2009.
Arthur S. Przybyl, Akorn's President and Chief Executive Officer stated, "On September 7, 2007 we previously announced an ANDA filing in collaboration with Sofgen. Building upon that success, we look forward to working together again. This soft gel oral drug product will be the second addition to our pipeline in women's healthcare and potentially a significant revenue contributor for both companies."
Ruben Minski, Sofgen's President and Chief Executive Officer stated, "We felt great chemistry in working hand by hand with Akorn's team in our previous ANDA filing, so we welcome this new opportunity with this soft gel oral development where we have put a great deal of resources. The drug is a specialty type niche pharmaceutical, with no current generic competitors and we are confident that with the combined energy and know-how between our Companies, the rewards will be gratifying."
About Akorn, Inc.
Akorn, Inc. manufactures and markets sterile specialty pharmaceuticals. Akorn has manufacturing facilities located in Decatur, Illinois and Somerset, New Jersey and markets and distributes an extensive line of hospital and ophthalmic pharmaceuticals. Additional information is available at the Company's website at www.Akorn.com.
About Sofgen Pharmaceuticals
Sofgen Pharmaceuticals is part of an Industrial Conglomerate with strong emphasis in the Healthcare and related businesses, including soft gelatin manufacturing facilities in South America and a Pharmaceutical Division with a distribution network that reaches 33 different countries around the globe.
Materials in this press release may contain information that includes or is based upon forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements give our expectations or forecasts of future events. You can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They use words such as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe," and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with a discussion of future operating or financial performance. In particular, these include statements relating to future steps we may take, prospective products, future performance or results of current and anticipated products, sales efforts, expenses, the outcome of contingencies such as legal proceedings, and financial results.
Any or all of our forward-looking statements here or in other publications may turn out to be wrong. They can be affected by inaccurate assumptions or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Many such factors will be important in determining our actual future results. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Our actual results may vary materially, and there are not guarantees about the performance of our stock.
Any forward-looking statements represent our expectations or forecasts only as of the date they were made and should not be relied upon as representing our expectations or forecasts as of any subsequent date. We undertake no obligation to correct or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, even if our expectations or forecasts change. You are advised, however, to consult any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our reports filed with the SEC. In particular, you should read the discussion in the section entitled "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, as it may be updated in subsequent reports filed with the SEC. That discussion covers certain risks, uncertainties and possibly inaccurate assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially from expected and historical results. Such factors include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties relating to the resolution of the FDA compliance issues at our Decatur, Illinois manufacturing facility. Other factors besides those listed there could also adversely affect our results.
Source: Akorn
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