HACKENSACK, N.J., April 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- DOV Pharmaceutical, Inc. announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued a Notice of Allowance for its patent application covering a new polymorphic, or crystalline, form of its proprietary compound bicifadine, a novel analgesic. The patent is expected to issue in the next several weeks and would have a term that runs through at least 2024 for this distinct form of bicifadine, which is the same form used in DOV's clinical trials and bicifadine development program.
"We believe this patent will further increase bicifadine's significant commercial potential and marks an important milestone in the compound's development," said Dr. Leslie Hudson, CEO and President of DOV. "DOV has additional formulation, process and novel use patent filings pending for bicifadine and we are committed to further enhancing the intellectual property portfolio to protect the market for this important new analgesic."
Bicifadine is currently being evaluated in three Phase III clinical trials in chronic low back pain patients and in two Phase II clinical trials: one in patients with neuropathic pain and one in patients with osteoarthritis of the hip or knee. DOV intends to file its first NDA for bicifadine in chronic pain in the first half of 2007.
About DOV
DOV is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, acquisition, development and commercialization of novel drug candidates for central nervous system disorders. Our product candidates address some of the largest pharmaceutical markets in the world including insomnia, pain and depression. Our partner Neurocrine has filed two NDAs for the use of DOV's compound indiplon for the treatment of insomnia.
Cautionary Note
Statements in this press release that are not historical facts constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act, each as amended, including statements regarding our expectations with respect to the progress of and level of expenses for our clinical trial programs. You can also identify forward-looking statements by the following words: may, will, should, expect, intend, plan, anticipate, believe, estimate, predict, potential, continue or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. We caution you that forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and are simply point-in-time estimates based on a combination of facts and factors currently known by us about which we cannot be certain. Actual results or events will surely differ and may differ materially from our forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, some of which we may not be able to predict or may not be within our control. Such factors may also materially adversely affect our ability to achieve our objectives and to successfully develop and commercialize our product candidates, including our ability to:
* Demonstrate the safety and efficacy of product candidates at each stage of development; * Meet our development schedule for our product candidates, including with respect to clinical trial initiation, enrollment and completion; * Develop an acceptable development plan under and otherwise achieve the results contemplated by the recent amendment to the existing license agreement with Merck; * Meet applicable regulatory standards and receive required regulatory approvals on our anticipated time schedule or at all; * Meet obligations and required milestones under our license and other agreements; * Obtain and maintain collaborations as required with pharmaceutical partners; * Obtain substantial additional funds; * Obtain and maintain all necessary patents or licenses; and * Produce drug candidates in commercial quantities at reasonable costs and compete successfully against other products and companies.
Factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements include (i) one or more of our product candidates could be shown to cause harmful side effects, (ii) one or more of our product candidates may not exhibit the expected therapeutic results, (iii) we or the FDA may place on clinical hold one or more of our clinical trials, and neither we nor the agency may determine to lift such hold, (iv) patient recruitment may be slower than expected or patients may drop out of our clinical trials, (v) regulatory approval for our product candidates may not be received or may be delayed, (vi) our licensees and collaborative partners on whom our success depends may not fulfill their obligations to us and (vii) financings that require SEC approval may be delayed. You should also refer to the risks discussed in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including those contained in our annual report on Form 10-K filed on March 15, 2006. We qualify all our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements. There may be other factors that may materially affect our forward-looking statements and our future results. Readers should not, therefore, place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. We do not undertake any obligation and do not intend to update any forward-looking statement.
DOV Pharmaceutical, Inc.CONTACT: Keri P. Mattox, Director, Investor Relations and CorporateCommunications, DOV Pharmaceutical, Inc., +1-201-968-0980
Web site: http://www.dovpharm.com/
