Orexo announces another agreement for its pain product Rapinyl™

19 December 2006 · Pressrelease · Regulatory
Orexo AB and the Hungarian pharmaceutical company Gedeon Richter Ltd. today announced that they have entered into a distribution agreement under which Gedeon Richter receives exclusive rights to market and sell Rapinyl™ – Orexo´s patented product for management of breakthrough cancer pain – in CIS, Bulgaria and Rumania. This is Orexo’s first distribution agreement for Rapinyl™. The marketing rights have previously been out-licensed in the U.S, EU and Japan.

”Gedeon Richter is one of eastern Europe’s largest pharmaceutical companies with strong growth and a turnover of USD 864 M in 2005. The company’s strong position in eastern part of Europe and Russia, makes them an ideal distributor of Rapinyl™. Purchasing power in Russia has improved dramatically the past few years, and we see significant opportunities for pharmaceuticals in general and for innovative products such as Rapinyl™ in particular”, says Zsolt Lavotha, President and CEO of Orexo AB.

”A core element of Gedeon Richter's strategy is to define those niches - both therapeutic and geographic - where we can be competitive. We are constantly looking for speciality products with high added value in a wide range of therapeutic areas in order to expand our product portfolio. Based on our brand promotional and marketing knowledge and our extended distribution network we can be a favourable distribution partner in the CIS region as well. With this agreement our marketing and distributional activity for Rapinyl™ has been completed, covering not only the CEE region but the CIS as well.” says Erik Bogsch, CEO of Gedeon Richter Ltd.

Rapinyl™ is a product for the treatment of cancer-related breakthrough pain. It is based on Orexo´s unique proprietary technology for sublingual administration, where a fast dissolving tablet is placed under the tongue and the active substance is absorbed through the mucous membrane in the mouth. This new drug form is designed for rapid onset of action and predictable and reproducible pain relief, and also results in a simplified treatment of patients suffering from breakthrough pain.

The referred distribution rights apply to CIS, Bulgaria and Rumania. Since 2003 the marketing rights for Rapinyl™ is licensed to Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co. Ltd for the Japanese market, since 2004 to Endo Pharmaceuticals for the North American market and since 2005 to ProStrakan Group plc for the EU market.

For more information, please contact:
Zsolt Lavotha, President & CEO, Orexo AB
+46 (0)18 780 88 12, e-mail: zsolt.lavotha@orexo.se

Claes Wenthzel, Executive Vice President and CFO, Orexo AB
+46 (0)18 780 88 44, +46 (0)708-62 01 22 e-mail: claes.wenthzel@orexo.se