Martinsried/Munich, January 13, 2011. The biotech company MediGene AG (Frankfurt, Prime Standard) has signed an exclusive license and supply agreement with Laboratoires Expanscience for the commercialization and marketing of Veregen® ointment in France. Laboratoires Expanscience will promote and distribute the drug for the treatment of genital warts. MediGene is entitled to successive payments totaling approx. EUR 2.3 million, depending on the achievement of set milestones. The first milestone payment will become due upon initiation of the approval procedure in France. Furthermore, MediGene will supply Expanscience with drug product and obtain royalties on the sales revenue generated with Veregen® in the form of a double-digit percentage share. France is one of the five largest potential markets for Veregen® in Europe.
MediGene has already entered into several marketing partnerships for Veregen®, e.g. with Nycomed, Inc. for the USA, with Abbott for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, with Juste S.A.Q.F for Spain and Portugal along with a number of other partners across Europe and Asia. MediGene is planning to continue this global licensing strategy.
Veregen® is also now recommended by the US Department of Health and Human Services Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines 2010 for the treatment of genital warts[1]. Veregen® is currently available on the US, German, and Austrian markets. A second wave of marketing applications within the European mutual recognition procedure is planned, with Germany serving as the reference state in this process. Veregen®: Veregen® for the topical treatment of external genital warts is a concentrate of catechins with a complex defined composition, extracted from green tea leaves. MediGene acquired the basic rights to the active ingredient in Veregen® (previously Polyphenon E® ointment) from the Canadian company Epitome Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in 1999, and was solely responsible for the drug’s successful preclinical and clinical development, as well as the approval process. Moreover the patent protection has been further upgraded by a number of proprietary inventions.
Laboratoires Expanscience: Since it was established in 1950, Laboratoires Expanscience has focused on the commercialization of innovative products on the health and wellness markets, and developed expertise in rheumatology, dermatology, dermo-cosmetics, dental care, and active principles for cosmetics. Today the company is a key player in two fields. In rheumatology, Piascledine 300 is the leader in France in its category; on the babycare and stretch mark markets, Mustela is the leading brand in European pharmacies. Laboratoires Expanscience has subsidiaries in eight countries, as well as a global partnering network spanning 59 markets. Annual turnover in 2009 totaled EUR 233 million.
This press release contains forward-looking statements representing the opinion of MediGene as of the date of this release. The actual results achieved by MediGene may differ significantly from the forward-looking statements made herein. MediGene is not bound to update any of these forward-looking statements. MediGene® and Veregen® are registered trademarks of MediGene AG. Polyphenon E® is a trademark of Mitsui Norin Co., Ltd. These trademarks may be owned or licensed in select locations only.
MediGene AG is a publicly listed (Frankfurt: MDG, prime standard) biotechnology company headquartered in Martinsried/Munich, Germany. MediGene is the first German biotech company to have drugs on the market which are distributed by partner companies. It has several drug candidates in clinical development and possesses innovative platform technologies. MediGene focuses on clinical research and development of novel drugs with focus on oncology.
Contact MediGene AG Julia Hofmann, Kerstin Langlotz Investor & Public Relations Tel.: ++49 - 89 - 85 65 - 33 01 Fax: ++49 - 89 - 85 65 - 29 20 Email: investor@medigene.com
