BINOSTO® (alendronate sodium) named to BioCentury's Products to Watch in 2013

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Jan 22, 2013, 05:24 ET

SAN ANTONIO, Texas, Jan. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- BINOSTO®(alendronate sodium) Effervescent Tablet for oral solution 70 mg, was named a "Product to Watch" in the January 7, 2013, edition of BioCentury, the Bernstein Report on BioBusiness newsletter. BioCentury is an internationally recognized leader in providing pharmaceutical analysis and data, along with value-added information for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. BINOSTO, a product of Mission Pharmacal and the first and only buffered solution of alendronate for the treatment of osteoporosis, was approved in 2012 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat osteoporosis in postmenopausal women and to increase bone mass in men with osteoporosis.

BINOSTO delivers the gold standard of alendronate sodium, the most broadly prescribed osteoporosis treatment for fracture prevention at the hip and spine, in a pleasant-tasting, once-weekly, buffered solution. BINOSTO also requires 50 percent less water than other alendronate products (4 ounces versus 8 ounces) and, because there is no tablet, patients can rest assured that they will not experience tablet esophagitis. The product represents a true innovation in the delivery of osteoporosis and bone fracture prevention medication, especially for those patients who prefer not to swallow tablets, suffer with dysphagia, or have other medical difficulties swallowing pills.

"Osteoporosis is widespread, with serious consequences for patients, including mortality, which is often seen after suffering a hip fracture. In fact, a 50-year-old woman's lifetime risk of dying from a hip fracture is equal to her risk of dying from breast cancer. And, unfortunately, many people incorrectly consider osteoporosis to be a normal part of aging. That's because it is largely asymptomatic,"[i] said Sol Epstein, MD, professor of medicine and geriatrics at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. "But osteoporosis is treatable. With the many new treatment options available, there is no reason for women to suffer the loss of independence and the pain and even mortality associated with osteoporotic fractures."

For anyone with osteoporosis, the best protection against suffering from a fracture is taking medications as prescribed by an authorized healthcare provider. Taken just once a week, strawberry flavored BINOSTO offers an easy-to-take option for patients seeking to decrease their risks of suffering a disabling fracture.

About BINOSTO
BINOSTOis a once weekly, strawberry-flavored effervescent tablet containing alendronate sodium (70mg) that rapidly dissolves in half a glass (4 oz.) of plain room temperature water to make a buffered solution. BINOSTO is available in packs of four. The national drug code number is 0178-0101-02.

BINOSTO was developed by EffRx based on an agreement with Merck & Co, Inc. granting EffRx the worldwide rights to all effervescent and related patents of FOSAMAX^® (alendronate). Patents have been granted to EffRx providing exclusivity for BINOSTOthrough February 2023. Additional patents are pending.

About Mission Pharmacal Company
Mission Pharmacal Company is a privately held pharmaceutical company based in San Antonio, Texas. For more than 65 years, the company has been committed to meeting the unique healthcare needs of women throughout all stages of life, pediatric patients, and those persons dealing with urologic and dermatologic conditions. The company has a proven track record of identifying unmet healthcare needs and developing both innovative prescription and over-the-counter products to meet these needs. Using only the purest ingredients and FDA-approved methods of manufacturing, Mission Pharmacal provides physicians and consumers with the highest quality pharmaceutical and dietary supplement products on the market today. Mission Pharmacal is a proud national supporter of the March of Dimes Foundation, whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. For more information about the company, visit www.missionpharmacal.com.

[i] http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Bone/Osteoporosis/men.asp

SOURCE Mission Pharmacal Company