Galashiels, Scotland, 25th June, 2009 – ProStrakan Group plc (LSE: PSK), the international specialty pharmaceutical company, today announces that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has published a Notice of Allowance for the US Patent for Sancuso, ProStrakan’s transdermal granisetron patch.
Consequently, subject to the payment by ProStrakan of the appropriate issue fee, a full US Patent for Sancuso is expected to be formally issued shortly. ProStrakan has also been granted a Patent Term Adjustment which provides for the Company to receive an extension to the life of the Patent by a further 373 days until 2025.
Sancuso is a transdermal patch that delivers granisetron, an established 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, steadily into the bloodstream for up to seven days, helping to prevent the side-effects of nausea and vomiting in patients undergoing chemotherapy for up to five consecutive days, without the need for daily injections or having to swallow pills.
Sancuso received a marketing authorisation from the US Food and Drug Administration in September 2008 and was launched in November 2008.
Commenting on the publication of the Notice of Allowance, ProStrakan’s Chief Executive, Dr Wilson Totten, said: “Today’s announcement, signalling the imminent grant of a US Patent for Sancuso, represents a critically important achievement for the long term, protecting one of our key new drugs in the US, the world’s largest pharmaceutical market. Sancuso is already the subject of granted patents in the EU and Japan.
“It is an important part of our strategy to move the business progressively into well differentiated, well protected products with clear patient benefits. The Notice of Allowance for the US Patent is a key element in delivering this.”
ProStrakan
ProStrakan Group plc is a rapidly growing specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in the development and commercialisation of prescription medicines for the treatment of unmet therapeutic needs in major markets.
ProStrakan’s head office is situated in Galashiels in Scotland. The company’s development capabilities are centred on Galashiels and Bedminster, New Jersey, USA. Sales and marketing of ProStrakan’s portfolio of products are handled by commercial subsidiaries in the UK, US, France, Germany, Spain and other EU countries. www.prostrakan.com
