This was rumored at least three or four years when introduction of COMTAN
AKA COMTESS AKA ENTACAPONE was in doubt. With Sinemet [ not CR] and
Eldepryl patents expired, a combination levodopa - carbidpopa - maybe
selegline hydrochloride - entacapone could be a very attractive product
and very competitive to Sinemet CR. The only portion of the pill subject
to patent protection would be the COMTAN produced by Orion. BTW: Orion
pronounces itself OH' REE' ON with emphasis [accent] on the first two
syllables.
Orion is a small drug producer which last year had three employees in the
US, it is the largest pharmaceutical manufacturer in Finland [not much
Competition in domestic pharmaceutical manufacture in Finland]. They also
make and/or distribute various over the counter medications, veterinary
drugs, and surgical equipment. {Orion is still several times the size of
my brother's business - Shock Warehouse -the world's largest exclusively
shock absorber dealer. Bet you have never seen another exclusively shock
absorber dealer. Shock Warehouse has one delivery driver, one warehouseman,
one office manager (my sister in law) and one general manager (my brother
who is usually on premises [approx. 1200 sq ft) on Wednesdays instead of
the securities brokerage where he is a commission agent] - but
ShockWarehouse has a nice website and usually comes up first when one
searches for shock absorbers on Yahoo.
Novartis is a very good marketer. It is they who raised the price of
Eldepryl from US$0.02 [TWO CENTS] per tablet in Hungary when it was
produced by Chinon in Budapest to well over US$2.00 [TWO DOLLARS] per
tablet.
Will Johnnston
A.P.D.A. DelMarVA Chapter Pres.
4049 Oakland School Road
Salisbury MD 21804 USA 410-543-0110
----------
From: Judith Richards <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: NEWS-Finland's Orion creates new Parkinson drug
Date: Friday, September 08, 2000 11:41 PM
Finland's Orion creates new Parkinson drug
By Katja Heinonen
http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/000907/l074779.html
HELSINKI, Sept 7, 2000 (Reuters) - Finnish pharmaceuticals group Orion
said on Thursday it was developing a new drug for Parkinson's disease
which could be available in 2004 and had signed a marketing deal with
Swiss group Novartis Pharma AG.
Orion said the new drug combined three active substances, levodopa,
carbidopa and entacapone, in one tablet.
Orion, a niche player and developer of proprietary drugs which launched
entacapone two years ago, currently sells that drug under the trade
names of Comtess and Comtan. It is Orion Pharma's leading product.
"Orion believes that the development process of the triple combination
will be facilitated by the fact that all three compounds are already on
the market and used concurrently in clinical practice," Orion said in a
statement.
Currently, the most effective and widely used treatment for the
Parkinson's disease is levodopa, but Orion said the compound tablet
would clearly ease the dosing of medication and increase the sales
potential of entacapone.
"We believe that the new combination drug (...) will speed up combining
entacapone treatment with levodopa treatment," Orion Pharma's Chief
Executive Jyrki Mattila told Reuters.
Orion said the world market for drugs to treat Parkinson's disease
totalled $1.6 billion in 1999, while entacapone sales were $27 million.
Mattila declined to say how much sales could increase with the new drug.
Orion said it aimed to submit applications for marketing approvals to
the European Union and U.S. drug authorities during 2002, with
registrations anticipated in 2003 and launches and full global sales
rolling out in 2004.
Orion also said it and Novartis, which is already its marketing partner
for Comtan, had signed a marketing agreement for the new drug.
Orion said that Novartis was due to make an upfront payment of $15
million upon the signing of the agreement, with further milestone
payments falling due as the global registration process advanced.
Mattila declined to give any further details about future payments.
Orion said its Pharma unit would have exclusive rights to market the new
product in Germany, Britain and Ireland, the Nordic countries, the
Baltics and in some other areas.
It would also retain the option to co-promote or co-market with Novartis
the product in the United States, France, Spain, Italy and ten other
countries.
Novartis would have exclusive rights to market the drug in the rest of
the world, except for Japan, which was not covered by the agreement, it
added.
Copyright © 2000 Yahoo!
Copyright 2000 Reuters Limited.
--
Judith Richards, London, Ontario, Canada
[log in to unmask]
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