SpePharm AG Wins Case Against Eisai Inc. in United States District Court for District of Delaware

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Sep 09, 2019, 03:00 ET

AMSTERDAM, Sept. 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- SpePharm AG, a subsidiary of Norgine B.V., announced that the United States District Court for the District of Delaware ruled on 4th September 2019 in favour of SpePharm in its proceeding against Eisai Inc., upholding SpePharm's licensed rights for SALAGEN® (pilocarpine hydrochloride) through April 2026. Judge Richard Andrews upheld SpePharm's position, finding that SpePharm properly exercised its option to extend its license agreement in 49 countries.

Eisai Inc. purported to give notice of its intent to terminate SpePharm AG's exclusive licensed rights for SALAGEN, a drug used to treat dry mouth caused by radiation therapy for head and neck cancer and to treat dry mouth and dry eyes in individuals with Sjögren's syndrome, and had entered into an agreement to sell global rights to SALAGEN to Advanz Pharma Corp. The Court's decision confirms that SpePharm retains its rights in 49 countries in Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States through April 2026.

Speaking on behalf of SpePharm, Peter Stein (CEO of Norgine) said, "We are gratified that the Court speedily agreed with SpePharm's position and upheld SpePharm's rights to continue commercialising SALAGEN for the benefit of patients. We are disappointed that we had to resort to legal action against Eisai, however, SpePharm will vigorously defend its rights through all appropriate means."

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Notes to editors:

About SpePharm

SpePharm AG is an independent unit within the Norgine group of companies and is based in Werftestrasse in Lucerne.

Norgine is a leading European specialist pharmaceutical company that has been bringing transformative medicines to patients for over a century. Across the globe in 2018, Norgine is proud to have helped 23 million patients and generated €395 million in net product sales to reinvest in medicines for the future, a growth of 15% over 2017.

We understand the complexities of the European healthcare systems and have a direct presence in 14 European countries, as well as Australia and New Zealand. We also have a strong global network of partnerships in non-Norgine markets.

We are a flexible and fully integrated pharmaceutical business, with manufacturing (Hengoed, Wales and Dreux, France), third party supply networks and significant product development capabilities, in addition to our sales and marketing infrastructure. This enables us to acquire, develop and commercialise specialist and innovative products that make a real difference to the lives of patients around the world.

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SOURCE Norgine B.V.