WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J., Aug. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that its subsidiary, Barr Laboratories, Inc., has received approval from the Therapeutic Products Directorate (TPD) of Health Canada for its Abbreviated New Drug Submission (ANDS) for its Portia(R) generic oral contraceptive as a generic equivalent of Wyeth Laboratories’ Min-Ovral(R) Tablets. This represents the first approval of a generic oral contraceptive for Canadian consumers.
Under the terms of an agreement with Apotex, Inc., Barr will manufacture the product and Apotex will market it in Canada. Apotex will record the Canadian sales of Portia and will pay Barr a royalty from those sales.
“This approval represents an historic first for Canadian consumers,” said Bruce L. Downey, Barr’s Chairman and CEO. “In partnership with Apotex, Canada’s largest pharmaceutical company, we are pleased to bring the first generic oral contraceptive to this important, untapped North American marketplace. This approval and marketing agreement will enable our two companies to provide Canadian women with an additional, more affordable option in oral contraception.”
“Canadian Provincial Drug Programs have been under a great deal of pressure due to increasing costs; this provides them with an alternative where none existed,” stated Jack Kay, President and Chief Operating Officer.
Barr has marketed its Portia product in the United States since 2002, when it was approved as the generic equivalent of Nordette(R) oral contraceptive tablets. Nordette is currently marketed in the United States by Duramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Portia, Nordette and Min-Ovral are regimens of oral contraceptives that contain 0.15 mg of levonorgestrel and 0.03 mg of ethinyl estradiol and is indicated for the prevention of pregnancy in women who elect to use this product as a method of contraception. Min-Ovral is supplied in 21-day and 28-day regimens in Canada and had annual sales of approximately $6 million for the twelve months ended June 2007, based on IMS sales data.
About Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a global specialty pharmaceutical company that operates in more than 30 countries worldwide and is engaged in the development, manufacture and marketing of generic and proprietary pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients. A holding company, Barr operates through its principal subsidiaries: Barr Laboratories, Inc., Duramed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and PLIVA d.d. and its subsidiaries. The Barr Group of companies markets more than 115 generic and 25 proprietary products in the U.S. and more than 1,200 products globally outside of the U.S.
About Apotex
Apotex is this country’s largest Canadian-owned pharmaceutical company, headquartered in Ontario with 5,500 employees and 21 facilities. They export medicines to 115 countries with an R&D budget expenditure planned of $2 billion over the next 10 years. They research, develop and manufacture over 300 medicines and fill over 72 million prescriptions in Canada.
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information contained herein, the statements made in this press release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements can be identified by their use of words such as “expects,” “plans,” “projects,” “will,” “may,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “should,” “intends,” “estimates” and other words of similar meaning. Because such statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that cannot be predicted or quantified, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements depending upon a number of factors affecting the Company’s business. These factors include, among others: the difficulty in predicting the timing and outcome of legal proceedings, including patent-related matters such as patent challenge settlements and patent infringement cases; the outcome of litigation arising from challenging the validity or non- infringement of patents covering our products; the difficulty of predicting the timing of FDA approvals; court and FDA decisions on exclusivity periods; the ability of competitors to extend exclusivity periods for their products; our ability to complete product development activities in the timeframes and for the costs we expect; market and customer acceptance and demand for our pharmaceutical products; our dependence on revenues from significant customers; reimbursement policies of third party payors; our dependence on revenues from significant products; the use of estimates in the preparation of our financial statements; the impact of competitive products and pricing on products, including the launch of authorized generics; the ability to launch new products in the timeframes we expect; the availability of raw materials; the availability of any product we purchase and sell as a distributor; the regulatory environment in the markets where we operate; our exposure to product liability and other lawsuits and contingencies; the increasing cost of insurance and the availability of product liability insurance coverage; our timely and successful completion of strategic initiatives, including integrating companies (such as PLIVA d.d.) and products we acquire and implementing our new SAP enterprise resource planning system; fluctuations in operating results, including the effects on such results from spending for research and development, sales and marketing activities and patent challenge activities; the inherent uncertainty associated with financial projections; our expansion into international markets through our PLIVA acquisition, and the resulting currency, governmental, regulatory and other risks involved with international operations; our ability to service our significantly increased debt obligations as a result of the PLIVA acquisition; changes in generally accepted accounting principles; and other risks detailed in our SEC filings, including in our Transition Report on Form 10-K/T for the six months ended December 31, 2006.
The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date the statement was made. The Company undertakes no obligation (nor does it intend) to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required under applicable law.
Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
CONTACT: Carol A. Cox of Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc., +1-201-930-3720,ccox@barrlabs.com; or Mr. Elie Betito of Apotex, Inc., +1-416-749-9300,ebetito@apotex.com
Web site: http://www.barrlabs.com//
Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/089750.html/
