February
8, 1999
Roberts Pharmaceutical Corporation In Late-Stage
Development Of A Long-Duration LHRH-Implant For Prostate Cancer
February 8, 1999 /WiredBird/EATONTOWN, NJ -- Roberts Pharmaceutical
Corporation (AMEX:RPC) today announced that its new late-stage development
product, designated RL0903, targets the treatment of prostate cancer
in the United States, Canada and Europe, a market estimated at over
$2 billion.
Roberts said it acquired rights from Hydro Med Sciences to a patented
hydrogel implant delivery technology for use in the Phase III development
of a LHRH agonist for the hormonal treatment of prostate cancer.
In consideration of milestone payments and royalties on future sales,
Roberts received exclusive rights to develop and market this LHRH-Hydrogel
Implant for the US, Canada, and Europe.
The LHRH agonist, a Roberts? therapeutic, is a synthetic gonadotropic
hormone releasing factor agonist that, due to its long-term inhibition
of pituitary release of gonadotropins, can block both ovarian and
testicular function. The hydrogel implant employs a proprietary
technology that delivers therapeutic agents at a controlled, constant
release rate for up to a year. It is a retrievable subcutaneous
implant that can be inserted in a physician?s office using a local
anesthetic.
The LHRH-Hydrogel Implant offers potentially significant benefits
over standard drug therapies for prostate cancer that employ gonadotropin
hormone releasing agonists and involve administration regimens ranging
from low-dosage daily injections to high-dosage implants or depot
injections of 3 to 4-months duration. The LHRH-Hydrogel Implant
should have distinct advantages by providing a more potent, reliable
administration of smaller amounts of therapeutic agent over a longer
time.
"RL0903 greatly enriches our development pipeline," said
John T. Spitznagel, Roberts? President and CEO. "We now have
three compounds in or nearing Phase III development which represent
significant future sales potential for Roberts. These include Dirame?,
a potent analgesic, and Emitasol?, an intranasal anti-emetic which
was licensed from RiboGene (AMEX:RBO)."
Separately Roberts said it is also highly optimistic about its near-term
growth prospects. "With the additions of Pentasa?, Agrylin?,
and ProAmatine? to our portfolio of marketed products, Roberts has
been experiencing significant growth," said Mr. Spitznagel.
He concluded by noting, "We will soon announce year-end 1998
results and expect to report that in the fourth quarter of the year
Roberts achieved, by a wide margin, a record level of revenues."
Roberts Pharmaceutical Corporation, with operating subsidiaries
in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, focuses on
value-added specialty pharmaceuticals in the therapeutic categories
of gastroenterology, urology, oncology/hematology, and cardiology/neurology.
Roberts actively pursues its strategy of Search & Develop to identify
and acquire novel post-discovery drug candidates to advance through
late-stage clinical development while also pursuing opportunities
to acquire and enhance the potential of commercially available specialty
medicines.
This and past press releases of Roberts Pharmaceutical Corporation
are available through the Internet at the Roberts? home page at
http://www.robertspharm.com.
"Safe
Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Roberts
Pharmaceutical Corporation's business which are not historical facts
are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and
uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties,
which could cause actual results to differ from those contained
in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors"
in the Company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently
ended fiscal year.
SOURCE Roberts
Pharmaceutical Corporation
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