Cerimon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Acquires First Clinical-Stage Product In Inflammation And Pain Program
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Oct. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Cerimon Pharmaceuticals announced today that it has acquired U.S. rights to market and sell two topical formulations of diclofenac, which are currently marketed in Japan. Other formulations of topical diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), are also marketed in Europe, but no topical NSAID is available in the United States.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Cerimon expects to initiate clinical trials in 2006 for the U.S. market for development in mild to moderate chronic pain due to arthritis.
In a separate announcement, Cerimon also reported today that it has raised $70 million in a Series A financing, proceeds of which will be used to fund this development program, as well as expand the Company's product pipeline through innovative partnering transactions and product acquisitions.
Paul Sekhri, President and CEO of Cerimon Pharmaceuticals, commented, "Cerimon is dedicated to developing and commercializing products to address substantial, unmet needs of patients with autoimmune diseases, inflammation and pain. We believe topical diclofenac can be an important product category in the U.S., and it is estimated that the size of the osteoarthritis market surpassed $5 billion in the United States in 2004."
Gary Patou, M.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Cerimon, stated, "With greatly increased concerns about the safety of orally administered pain medications, most notably, NSAIDs and COX-2 inhibitors, we believe there is a significant patient need for topical, non-systemic formulations that reduce the overall exposure to drug and therefore decrease the potential for adverse effects. A head-to-head study of topical diclofenac with oral diclofenac conducted in Japan suggests that the topical product has a lower adverse event rate and retained efficacy. Based on these promising findings, we look forward to initiating our own clinical trials program here in the United States."
About Cerimon Pharmaceuticals
Cerimon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to bringing innovative therapeutics to patients with substantial, unmet medical needs. The Company is engaged in the development and commercialization of therapeutics in the areas of autoimmune diseases, inflammation and pain. Cerimon was founded in November 2004 by Paul Sekhri, together with Ansbert Gadicke and Luke Evnin of MPM Capital, as a start-up biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative partnering deals with the pharmaceutical industry. Cerimon is headquartered in South San Francisco. For more information on Cerimon, please visit the Company's Website at http://www.cerimon.com.
Source: Cerimon Pharmaceuticals