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To: Tom Latham who wrote (12)	4/9/1999 10:29:00 AM
From: ArtAlley	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 15

ASCT news: FDA approval is expected on their new drugs and marketing should begin as early as the second half of this year. Ascent Pediatrics Announces Co-Promotion Agreement With King Pharmaceuticals for Pediotic(R) WILMINGTON, Mass., April 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascent Pediatrics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ASCT - news), today announced that it has entered into a co-promotion agreement with King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: KING - news) to utilize Ascent's specialized sales force to market King's product, Pediotic®, to pediatricians in the U.S. The agreement is for one year, commencing May 1, 1999. Pediotic® is a combination corticosteroid/antibiotic prescription product indicated for the treatment of otitis externa. It competes in a market estimated to be $81 million in 1998, of which pediatricians accounted for approximately 20% of total market prescriptions. Sales of Pediotic® in 1998 were approximately $4.5 million, with 62% of its prescriptions written by pediatricians. ''Pediotic® is an ideal addition to the products Ascent is currently promoting to pediatricians,'' said Alan Fox, President and Chief Executive Officer. ''Its primary season for prescriptions is during the summer months, thus complementing the other activities of Ascent's sales force. We believe Pediotic® will be sensitive to promotion and through our specialized sales efforts can capture increased market share.'' John M. Gregory, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of King commented, ''Ascent's sales force will be marketing Pediotic® under our co-promotion agreement to pediatricians who are not presently targeted by King. We believe this arrangement with Ascent will facilitate our leveraging of Pediotic® for greater sales to specialized medial practices.'' Ascent is the only company dedicated exclusively to selling pharmaceutical products to the pediatric market, a market estimated to be over $4 billion in 1998. Ascent currently markets FeverAll® Acetaminophen Suppositories and Pediamist® Nasal Mist. Ascent also expects to begin marketing in the second half of 1999 two of its significant products: Primsol® solution, an antibiotic for the treatment of acute otitis media, and Orapred®, an improved tasting liquid steroid prescribed for the treatment of asthma, in both cases subject to FDA approval. Ascent currently has 87 sales representatives calling on pediatricians. Ascent's strategy is to address the unmet medical needs of children through the development of differentiated, proprietary products based on approved compounds with well-known clinical profiles and to utilize its specialized sales force to leverage products from other larger pharmaceutical companies who are not as focused on the pediatric market. ------ Previous