In case anyone missed this on SH.......
Attention Business Editors:
Dimethaid signs new UK distribution deal for Pennsaid(R)
TORONTO, Oct. 7 /CNW/ - In2Focus Sales Development Services Ltd. has
signed an agreement with Markham-based pharmaceutical developer Dimethaid
Research Inc. (TSX: DMX) to distribute the Canadian company's first
prescription, anti-arthritic drug Pennsaid(R) throughout the United Kingdom.
Headquartered in Berkshire, near London, In2Focus specializes in
pharmaceutical sales and marketing and regularly provides services to such
industry leaders as Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and Aventis. It
will position topical Pennsaid directly against pills known as NSAIDs often
used to treat osteoarthritis symptoms in the knees and superficial joints.
Estimates, as of June 2003, value the UK market for NSAIDs at around pnds stlg
356 million.
"Compared to even the most effective oral treatments, Pennsaid offers a
fantastic next step," said Stephen Kerridge, chairman of In2Focus. "All the
power of the orals and none of the broad systemic medical problems. That's got
to be good for patients and good for GPs."
Pennsaid lotion delivers active drug through the skin directly to the
pain site. Unlike competing oral medication, it has not been associated with
an increased risk of stomach and intestinal problems. The most commonly
reported reaction has been a patch of dry skin at the application site.
Following an official launch this week, In2Focus will begin a high-
profile marketing campaign, aimed initially at the UK's thirty-six thousand
general practitioners and pain control specialists who prescribe NSAIDs most
frequently. "British patients are normally used to taking pills," said
Kerridge. "We want them to see Pennsaid as serious medicine. That's our
challenge."
A recent head-to-head study, presented at the 2003 European Congress of
Rheumatology, has demonstrated that Pennsaid works as well as pills containing
the same active ingredient, without provoking serious side effects.
Traditional oral NSAIDs have been linked to a variety of severe,
occasionally fatal, conditions including bleeding ulcers, diarrhea and liver
disease. A large marketing study conducted last year shows that British
doctors have become reluctant to prescribe these pills for patients over 65,
especially for those with heart conditions or asthma. Newer NSAID pills,
called COX-2 inhibitors, were originally thought to be safer but the same
study shows that 86 percent of doctors now believe COX-2s also have a
potential to cause side effects. The Arthritis Research Campaign, a British
fundraising and medical support group, reports that oral NSAID use has led to
some 12,000 hospitalizations and 2,000 deaths annually in the UK.
"Adapting to local market conditions is a key piece in our international
strategy," said Rebecca E. Keeler, Dimethaid's president and CEO. "In the UK,
all the top ten pharma companies have been moving to outsourcing organizations
as a way of staying in touch with customers while protecting their margins. We
think In2Focus-the fastest growing sales group in Britain-has exactly the
right combination of resources and experience to capture the market share
Pennsaid deserves."
Within the shifting UK health-care market, contract sales organizations
now handle some 30 percent of all pharmaceuticals, having created a pnds stlg
162-million industry that delivers a majority of sales for such popular NSAIDs
as Celebrex(R) and Vioxx(R).
Starting with a twenty-man team, assigned exclusively to promoting
Pennsaid, In2Focus plans to triple its sales force in 2004 as marketing
expands to include nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and specialists in
rheumatology and geriatrics. The company will also provide extensive IT
reporting systems and market analysis.
About In2Focus Sales Development Services Ltd.
In2Focus is a contract sales organization offering comprehensive
commercialization services to pharmaceutical clients. The company provides
high quality, professional support including planning, sales and nursing teams
to maximize business performance. In2Focus maintains a strategic partnership
with minority stakeholder PDI Inc., (Nasdaq: PDII), headquartered in Upper
Saddle River, New Jersey.
About Dimethaid Research Inc.
Dimethaid Research Inc. is a publicly traded, Canadian, specialty
pharmaceutical company headquartered in Markham, Ontario, with manufacturing
facilities in Varennes, Québec and Wanzleben, Germany. The company develops
and commercializes targeted therapeutic drugs designed to produce minimal side
effects. Dimethaid's two technology platforms focus on immune system
regulation and transcellular drug delivery. Products are aimed at expanding
treatment options in oncology, immunology, rheumatology and the therapeutic
management of chronic viral infections. For more information, please visit
www.dimethaid.com. |
