Worldwide rights for Parkinson-Patch; SCHWARZ PHARMA and DTI to broaden Collaboration.Business Editors, Science/Medical Writers RICHMOND, Va.--(BW HealthWire)--Dec. 27, 1999 SCHWARZ PHARMA and Discovery Therapeutics Inc., Richmond Virginia (USA), today announced that they are expanding their 1998 collaboration for the Parkinson-Patch (SPM-962) to include Japan. The 1998 agreement granted SCHWARZ PHARMA development and marketing rights worldwide excluding Japan. In connection with the amended agreement, and in addition to its milestone and royalty payments, SCHWARZ PHARMA will make a US$ 5 million equity investment in DTI Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) A refinement of magnetic resonance imaging that allows the doctor to measure the flow of water and track the pathways of white matter in the brain. . "We are pleased to obtain the full worldwide rights to this promising product. Clinical Phase II studies have shown exciting results." said Lars Ekman, MD, PhD, Member of the board of SCHWARZ PHARMA AG. "The Parkinson-Patch spearheads SCHWARZ PHARMA's competence in the field of central nervous system diseases. DTI is a promising innovative company and we look forward to a closer collaboration." Dr Donald McAfee, DTI Chairman & CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. , echoed Lars Ekman's positive outlook on the closer collaboration: "We have been impressed with SCHWARZ PHARMA's capabilities and their sense of urgency in moving the Parkinson-Patch through the late stage clinical development in a fast and targeted way. Having found SCHWARZ PHARMA to be an excellent partner to work with, we are pleased to have them take full responsibility for the clinical development and marketing of the Parkinson-Patch. Their decision to make an equity investment in DTI further strengthens the bond between the two companies." The Parkinson-Patch SPM-962 is a transdermal formulation of novel and potent dopamine agonist A dopamine agonist is a compound that activates dopamine receptors, mimicking the effect of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Uses Some medical drugs act as dopamine agonists; they are typically used for treating Parkinson's disease, and may be useful for restless legs (DTI's N-0923). The skin patch skin patch, transdermal patch, or transdermal delivery system, adhesive patch used to deliver a controlled dose of a drug through the skin over a period of time. is also proprietary, a joint invention of Lohmann Therapy-Systems, Andernach, Germany and DTI. SCHWARZ PHARMA introduced this novel product into clinical trials for the first time, demonstrating superior pharmacokinetic properties over previous transdermal formulations. The product appears to be efficacious and results of phase II studies will be published in 2000. Together with other agreements signed in December (rights for a prostate cancer prostate cancer, cancer originating in the prostate gland. Prostate cancer is the leading malignancy in men in the United States and is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer death in men. compound from Cephalon Ceph´a`lon n. 1. (Zool.) The head. Inc., rights for antiarrhythmics with ARYx, rights for an epilepsy drug with Harris FRC FRC abbr. functional residual capacity FRC see functional residual capacity. ) the development projects will have a significant impact on SCHWARZ PHARMA's R&D cost structure for 1999, 2000 and the following years. Management expects 1999 net profit to fall below DM 20 million, as was announced in October. It is likely that 1999 net profit will fall to around DM 15 million. For 2000, research and development expenses will increase an additional DM 40 million. SCHWARZ PHARMA AG has its headquarters in Monheim, Germany. The company expects global sales of DM 1.37 billion in 1999. SCHWARZ PHARMA develops and markets innovative drugs for unmet medical needs. The company has a strong international presence with subsidiaries in Germany, the USA, Italy, Spain, France, Great Britain Great Britain, officially United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, constitutional monarchy (2005 est. pop. 60,441,000), 94,226 sq mi (244,044 sq km), on the British Isles, off W Europe. The country is often referred to simply as Britain. , Poland, and China. Furthermore, licensing agreements for SCHWARZ PHARMA products exist in 50 other countries. Shares of SCHWARZ PHARMA AG are traded on the Frankfurt and Dusseldorf stock exchanges. For more information, please see our web site: www.schwarzpharma.com Corporate Communications Corporate communications is the process of facilitating information and knowledge exchanges with internal and key external groups and individuals that have a direct relationship with an enterprise. : Antje Witte, T: +49-2173-48-1866 Discovery Therapeutics, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia Richmond IPA: [ɹɯʒmɐnɖ] is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. , USA is a privately held, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutics for cardio-renal diseases. |
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