Access Pharmaceuticals Announces Commercial Launch of MuGard(TM) in Norway by SpePharm
27 Julio 2009 - 8:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Early Market Assessment Studies Suggest Larger Market Potential
DALLAS, July 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ACCESS PHARMACEUTICALS,
INC. (OTC:ACCP) (BULLETIN BOARD: ACCP) announced today that its
European partner, SpePharm, has commenced commercial launch of
MuGard in Norway. This follows previous commercial launches in the
UK, Germany, Italy and Greece. Under a license from Access
Pharmaceuticals, SpePharm is responsible for manufacturing,
regulatory approval and commercialization in the 27 countries of
Europe. SpePharm plans to launch MuGard throughout Europe over the
next 12 months, with direct launches planned in France, Spain and
the Benelux countries, and launches through local distributors in
Central and Eastern Europe. The license agreement includes
royalties on net sales to Access. Central to the MuGard commercial
launch strategy is a coordinated effort to seek reimbursement from
governmental agencies, placement in pharmacy formularies and an
aggressive seeding strategy in leading cancer treatment centers and
with leading clinicians. Aggressive sampling and education of
patients and clinicians on early prophylactic use is proving
important in reducing incidence, severity and duration of oral
mucositis. "The early feedback includes a high rate of enthusiasm
and intention to continue use by practicing clinicians and
patients, who have used MuGard," stated Jeffrey B. Davis, Access'
President & CEO. "We believe this enhanced awareness of the
benefits associated with use of MuGard as a preventative treatment
is likely to result in solid marketing traction and market
penetration in Europe as SpePharm continues market seeding studies
in the major EU markets to continue to develop awareness within the
medical community. Access continues to aggressively seek ways to
maximize MuGard's potential for cancer patients and for its
shareholders." MuGard is a novel, ready-to-use mucoadhesive oral
wound rinse for the management of oral mucositis, a debilitating
side effect of many anticancer treatments. Up to 40% of all
patients receiving chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy develop
moderate to severe mucositis, and almost all patients receiving
radiotherapy for head and neck cancer and those undergoing stem
cell transplantation develop mucositis. Updated clinical practice
guidelines for the prevention and treatment of mucositis recommend
the use of a preventive oral care regimen as part of routine
supportive care along with a therapeutic oral care regimen if
mucositis develops. The market for the treatment of oral mucositis,
expanding to include all patients undergoing chemotherapy and
radiotherapy, is estimated to be in excess of $5 billion
world-wide. MuGard forms a protective coating over the oral mucosa
when swirled gently around the mouth. In a comparison of cancer
patients receiving standard mucositis care with those patients
receiving MuGard, the incidence and severity of mucositis was
significantly lower in the MuGard treated group using a validated
scale for the assessment of oral mucositis. About Access: Access
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an emerging biopharmaceutical company that
develops and commercializes propriety products for the treatment
and supportive care of cancer patients. Access' products include
ProLindac(TM), currently in Phase 2 clinical testing of patients
with ovarian cancer, and MuGard(TM) for the management of patients
with mucositis. The company also has other advanced drug delivery
technologies including Cobalamin(TM)-mediated targeted delivery and
oral drug delivery, its proprietary nanopolymer delivery technology
based on the natural vitamin B12 uptake mechanism; Angiolix , a
humanized monoclonal antibody which acts as an anti-angiogenesis
factor and is targeted to breast cancer; and Thiarabine, a new
generation nucleoside analog which has demonstrated both
pre-clinical and clinical activity in certain cancers. For
additional information on Access Pharmaceuticals, please visit our
website at http://www.accesspharma.com/. This press release
contains certain statements that are forward-looking within the
meaning of Section 27a of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
and that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements include
those relating to: clinical trial plans and timelines and clinical
results for ProLindac and product candidates acquired in the
MacroChem transaction, our ability to execute licensing agreements
in the future, Access' plans to continue and initiate clinical
trials, the value of its products in the market (including MuGard
and the size of the overall market for mucositis products), its
ability to achieve clinical and commercial success and its ability
to successfully develop marketed products. These statements are
subject to numerous risks, including but not limited Access' need
to obtain additional financing in order to continue the clinical
trial and operations and to the risks detailed in Access' Annual
Reports on Form 10-K and other reports filed by Access with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Contact: Company Contact:
Investor Relations Stephen B. Thompson Donald C. Weinberger/ Vice
President, Diana Bittner (media) Chief Financial Officer Wolfe
Axelrod Weinberger Assoc. LLC Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (212)
370-4500 (214) 905-5100 DATASOURCE: Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
CONTACT: Company, Stephen B. Thompson, Vice President, Chief
Financial Officer of Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc., +1-214-905-5100;
Investor Relations, Donald C. Weinberger, or Diana Bittner (media),
Wolfe Axelrod Weinberger Assoc. LLC, +1-212-370-4500, for Access
Pharmaceuticals, Inc Web Site: http://accesspharma.com/
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