Healthcare Industry News: breakthrough cancer pain
News Release - December 22, 2008
Prostrakan and Paladin Complete Agreement for Abstral(R) and Sancuso(R)
MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Healthcare Sales & Marketing Network)--Dec 22, 2008 -- Paladin Labs Inc. (Toronto:PLB.TO ), a leading Canadian specialty pharmaceutical company, today announced that it has entered into a licensing and distribution agreement under which ProStrakan Group plc (LSE:PSK.L ) has granted Paladin the exclusive Canadian rights to market and sell Abstral® (sublingual fentanyl) and Sancuso® (granisetron transdermal patch). Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.Abstral® is a rapid dissolving, sub-lingual tablet of fentanyl, indicated for the management of breakthrough cancer pain in patients who are already receiving opioid analgesics. Abstral® is currently approved in Sweden, Denmark, United Kingdom and Germany. There is currently no immediate release fentanyl available for sale in Canada. In the United States, immediate release fentanyl recorded more than US $500 million in sales in 2007.
Sancuso® is a transdermal patch that delivers granisetron, an established 5HT3 receptor antagonist, and is indicated for the prevention of nausea and vomiting in patients undergoing chemotherapy for up to 5 consecutive days. Sancuso® has the advantage of offering this protection through a single transdermal patch application, eradicating the need for repeated daily injections or having to swallow multiple pills on a repeated daily basis. Sancuso® is currently approved in the United States and was named by Time magazine as one of the top medical breakthroughs in 2008. Based on IMS Canada data, Paladin estimates the total chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting market at approximately $45 million. The largest molecule in this category is ondansetron with approximately $19 million in sales.
"It is our intention to submit these two innovative products for Canadian regulatory approval in mid-2009. We expect Abstral® and Sancuso® to fulfill an unmet need for cancer patients in Canada," said Jonathan Ross Goodman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Paladin Labs Inc. "These products complement our dynamic and growing promoted pain portfolio, which already includes Tridural(TM), Metadol® and Pennsaid®, and provides us an additional pillar upon which to build out a supportive care oncology franchise."
"Our strategy is to ensure that we capitalize on the strength of our high value products through out-licensing agreements in territories that are non-core for ProStrakan. In Paladin, we have a partner with demonstrable sales and marketing expertise, particularly in the area of cancer pain, and a very significant presence in the Canadian pharmaceuticals market" said Dr. Wilson Totten, Chief Executive Officer, ProStrakan Group plc.
About Paladin Labs Inc.
Paladin Labs Inc., headquartered in Montreal, Canada, is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on acquiring or in-licensing innovative pharmaceutical products for the Canadian market. With this strategy, a focused national sales team and proven marketing expertise, Paladin has evolved into one of Canada's leading specialty pharmaceutical companies. For more information, please visit the Company's web site at www.paladinlabs.com.
About ProStrakan
ProStrakan Group plc is a rapidly growing specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in the development and commercialisation of prescription medicines for the treatment of unmet therapeutic needs in major markets. ProStrakan's head office is situated in Galashiels in Scotland. The company's development capabilities are centred on Galashiels and Bedminster, New Jersey, USA. Sales and marketing of ProStrakan's portfolio of products are handled by commercial subsidiaries in the UK, US, France, Germany, Spain and other EU countries. For more information, please visit the Company's web site at
www.prostrakan.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements and predictions. These forward-looking statements, by their nature, necessarily involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Paladin Labs Inc. (the "Company") considers the assumptions on which these forward-looking statements are based to be reasonable at the time they were prepared, but cautions that these assumptions regarding the future events, many of which are beyond the control of the Company and its subsidiaries may ultimately prove to be incorrect. Factors and risks, which could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations, are discussed in the annual report as well as in the Company's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2007. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether a result of new information, future events, or except as required by law. For additional information on risks and uncertainties relating to these forward-looking statements, investors should consult the Company's ongoing quarterly fillings, annual report and Annual Information Form and other fillings found on SEDAR at www.sedar.com
Source: Paladin Labs
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