RARITAN, N.J., April 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C., (J&JPRD), together with Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., announced that it will initiate Phase III studies of tapentadol (CG5503/ R331333), a novel, centrally acting analgesic with a dual mechanism of action, for the treatment of moderate-to-severe acute pain in the third quarter of 2006. The milestone will trigger an undisclosed payment to Grunenthal GmbH.
Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical entered into a licensing agreement for Grunenthal’s tapentadol in February 2003. Under the agreement, J&JPRD is co-developing the product with Grunenthal. If successfully developed, tapentadol would be the first new molecular entity to enter medical practice in the oral opioid category in over 25 years. Preclinical and early clinical data evaluating tapentadol will be presented at the upcoming American Pain Society meeting May 3-6.
About Grunenthal:
Grunenthal GmbH is an independent and international pharmaceutical company, concentrating on pain therapy, gynecology and anti-infectives. It was founded in Stolberg in 1946. The operative unit in Germany is Grunenthal GmbH located in Aachen, where production, research and development are concentrated. The research and development pipeline contains new chemical entities and advanced pharmaceutical delivery technologies. Grunenthal GmbH is currently represented in 26 countries with affiliates in virtually all European countries. Grunenthal GmbH has production sites in seven countries. Grunenthal GmbH employs about 1,800 people in Germany and 4,800 world-wide.
About J&JPRD:
Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C. (J&JPRD) is part of Johnson & Johnson, the world’s most broad-based producer of healthcare products. J&JPRD is headquartered in Raritan, New Jersey (USA), and has facilities throughout Europe and the United States. J&JPRD is leveraging drug discovery and drug development in a variety of therapeutic areas to address unmet medical needs worldwide. Combining innovation and experience, the company’s major therapeutic areas of focus include hematology, oncology, infectious disease, neurology and psychiatry, pain and women’s health.
Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C.
CONTACT: Investors: Louise Mehrotra, +1-732-524-6491, or Stan Panasewicz,+1-732-524-2524, or Media: Doug Stokke, +1-908-927-3783, all of Johnson &Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C.
