CHAPEL HILL, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- POZEN Inc. (NASDAQ:POZN - News), a pharmaceutical company committed to transforming medicine that transforms lives, today announced that it has been notified by AstraZeneca that marketing and pricing approval for VIMOVO™ (naproxen/ esomeprazole magnesium) 500/20 mg modified-release tablets, has been granted in the United Kingdom (UK). VIMOVO is indicated for the symptomatic treatment of osteoarthritis (OA), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in patients who are at risk for developing non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-associated gastric and/or duodenal ulcers and where treatment with lower doses of naproxen or of other NSAIDs is not considered sufficient.
Under the terms of its agreement with AstraZeneca, POZEN will receive a $25 million milestone payment within 20 days. As a result of the payment, the Company is confirming its 2010 year-end guidance will be net income of $21 to $23 million. Additionally, the Company’s year-end cash guidance is anticipated to be $63 to $65 million.
“We are looking forward to using this milestone to continue to fund and advance the development of our PA portfolio,” said John Plachetka, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of POZEN. “To address the needs of millions of people worldwide who could benefit from aspirin therapy, POZEN is applying the proven science of integrated therapies to develop a family of products designed to enable the full power of aspirin by reducing its gastrointestinal toxicity.”
The products in the PA portfolio are intended to significantly reduce gastrointestinal (GI) ulcers and other GI complications compared to taking aspirin alone. According to the American Heart Association, 50 million Americans use aspirin regularly for cardiovascular disease prevention. Despite this, 20 percent of people on low-dose aspirin are at risk for serious GI complications; 25% discontinue or reduce their use of aspirin due to GI side effects; and low-dose aspirin discontinuation leads to three times increased risk of a potentially fatal cardiovascular event.
About POZEN
POZEN Inc. is a progressive pharmaceutical company that is transforming how the healthcare industry addresses unmet medical needs. By utilizing a unique in-source model and focusing on integrated therapies, POZEN has successfully developed and obtained FDA approval of two self-invented products in two years – something almost no other small pharmaceutical company has done. Funded by these two milestone/royalty streams, POZEN is now creating a portfolio of cost-effective, evidence based integrated aspirin therapies designed to enable the full power of aspirin by reducing its GI toxicity. The lead candidate, PA32540, is being investigated for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease in patients at risk for aspirin-induced ulcers and has entered Phase 3 clinical trials. POZEN is retaining commercial control of the pipeline assets and will develop a 21st century sales and marketing organization using a new sales force model and digital communications. The Company’s common stock is traded on The NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol “POZN”. For more detailed company information, including copies of this and other press releases, please visit: www.pozen.com.
About VIMOVO
VIMOVO, co-developed by POZEN Inc. and AstraZeneca, is a fixed-dose combination of delayed-release enteric-coated naproxen, a pain-relieving non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), and immediate release esomeprazole, a proton pump inhibitor (PPI). On April 30, 2010, the Company announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved VIMOVO delayed-release tablets for the relief of the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis (OA), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and to decrease the risk of developing gastric ulcers in patients at risk of developing NSAID-associated gastric ulcers. VIMOVO is not recommended for initial treatment of acute pain because the absorption of naproxen is delayed compared to the absorption from other naproxen-containing products. Controlled studies do not extend beyond six months.
Since FDA approval, AstraZeneca’s initial U.S. commercial efforts have been focused on building brand awareness and on developing formulary access and reimbursement, with detailing beginning in September 2010.
VIMOVO received positive agreement for approval in 23 countries across the European Union in October 2010.
For Full Prescribing Information see www.vimovo.com.
About PA
POZEN is creating a portfolio of integrated aspirin therapies – the PA product platform. The products in the PA portfolio are intended to significantly reduce GI ulcers and other GI complications compared to taking aspirin alone.
The first candidate is PA32540. It is a coordinated-delivery tablet combining immediate release omeprazole, a PPI, layered around pH-sensitive aspirin. This novel, patented product is administered orally once a day and will be indicated for use for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease in patients at risk for aspirin-induced ulcers. POZEN has completed enrollment for the long-term safety study and continues enrollment on the two pivotal studies, targeting an NDA filing in 2012.
POZEN is also conducting exploratory work on integrated aspirin therapies for other pain and pain-related conditions.
Statements included in this press release that are not historical in nature are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You should be aware that our actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, which are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, our failure to successfully commercialize our product candidates; costs and delays in the development and/or FDA approval of our product candidates, including as a result of the need to conduct additional studies, or the failure to obtain such approval of our product candidates, including as a result of changes in regulatory standards or the regulatory environment during the development period of any of our product candidates; uncertainties in clinical trial results or the timing of such trials, resulting in, among other things, an extension in the period over which we recognize deferred revenue or our failure to achieve milestones that would have provided us with revenue; our inability to maintain or enter into, and the risks resulting from our dependence upon, collaboration or contractual arrangements necessary for the development, manufacture, commercialization, marketing, sales and distribution of any products, including our dependence on GlaxoSmithKline for the sales and marketing of Treximet® and our dependence on AstraZeneca for the sales and marketing of VIMOVO™; competitive factors; our inability to protect our patents or proprietary rights and obtain necessary rights to third party patents and intellectual property to operate our business; our inability to operate our business without infringing the patents and proprietary rights of others; general economic conditions; the failure of any products to gain market acceptance; our inability to obtain any additional required financing; technological changes; government regulation; changes in industry practice; and one-time events, including those discussed herein and in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2010. We do not intend to update any of these factors or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements.
