Sheffield Regains All Systemic Intellectual Property Rights to Tempo(TM) Inhaler and Premaire(R) Delivery System
Terminates Joint Venture With Elan
ST. LOUIS, Aug. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sheffield Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Amex: SHM - News) today announced that it has recovered all rights to the intellectual property for the Tempo(TM) Inhaler and Premaire® Delivery System for systemic disease applications previously committed to a joint venture arrangement with Elan Corporation, plc (NYSE: ELN - News). The joint venture, called Systemic Pulmonary Delivery, Ltd. ("SPD"), was established in 1998. As a result of the transaction, the SPD joint venture is ended and Elan retains a carried interest.
In addition, both companies will enter into a licensing agreement, whereby Elan's UPDAS(TM) system, a unit-dose pulmonary delivery system, and its Enhancing Technology, which had been exclusively licensed to the joint venture, will now be exclusively licensed to Sheffield. Sheffield has granted Elan an ongoing right to receive royalties on commercialization for two specific products that were the subject of feasibility work by the joint venture. Those products are Tempo-ergotamine and Premaire-morphine.
Thomas M. Fitzgerald, President and CEO, said, "This transaction is strategically important for Sheffield because now both the systemic and local respiratory applications of the Tempo and Premaire intellectual property are consolidated solely in Sheffield.
We plan to pursue additional outlicensing opportunities and develop further systemic applications for these important technologies, which will build value in Sheffield. The termination of SPD will also enable Sheffield to receive a greater share of commercial opportunities created by systemic therapies delivered by the Tempo Inhaler and Premaire Delivery System. We continue to work closely with Elan, the company's largest shareholder, to identify opportunities to mutually build shareholder value in Sheffield."
Termination of the SPD venture has no effect on Elan's shareholding in Sheffield. However, as part of the termination agreement, Elan has relinquished its right to exchange its holdings in Sheffield Series C convertible preferred stock into an ownership of SPD. The SPD venture had been conducted as a wholly owned subsidiary of Sheffield.
Sheffield Pharmaceuticals, Inc. provides innovative, cost-effective pharmaceutical therapies by combining state-of-the-art pulmonary drug delivery technologies with existing and emerging therapeutic agents. Sheffield is developing a range of products to treat respiratory and systemic diseases using pressurized metered dose, solution-based and dry powder inhaler and formulation technologies, including its proprietary Premaire® Delivery System and Tempo(TM) Inhaler. Sheffield focuses on improving clinical outcomes with patient-friendly alternatives to inconvenient or sub-optimal methods of drug administration. Investors can learn more about Sheffield Pharmaceuticals on its Web site at www.sheffieldpharm.com . |
