ALAMEDA, Calif., July 23, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Avigen, Inc. (Nasdaq:AVGN), a biopharmaceutical company innovating therapeutics for neurological care, today announced an amendment to the company's contract with Sanochemia Pharmazeutika AG, Avigen's development partner for AV650 (tolperisone). Under the terms of the amendment, Avigen has agreed to pay up to $5 million in development-based milestone payments for the development of a proprietary, purer form of AV650. Avigen and Sanochemia have filed composition-of-matter and formulation patents in the United States for this purer form of AV650 that the company believes will provide exclusivity through 2027. Avigen is developing AV650 for commercialization in the North American market for the treatment of disabling neuromuscular spasticity and spasm under a license and supply agreement with Sanochemia. Avigen expects to announce the results of its Phase IIb clinical trial for AV650 in patients with spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis in the fourth quarter of 2008.
