PRESS RELEASE
BurnsAdler Partners with Grupo EMS Sigma Pharma for the Promotion of Nitrolingual® Spray in Brazil
Charlotte, North Carolina (June 3, 2005) – BurnsAdler Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has entered into a five year promotional agreement with Grupo EMS Sigma Pharma (EMS) to market Nitrolingual® Pumpspray in Brazil. EMS will market the 60 dose version of the product.
Banks Bourne, Chief Executive Officer of BurnsAdler remarked, “We are pleased to have partnered with EMS for the promotion and distribution of Nitrolingual® Pumpspray. With over $600 million in sales and an approximate 5% share of the Brazilian pharmaceutical market, EMS will provide the necessary marketing infrastructure to achieve our target sales goals in the market. Furthermore, we believe the expedited relief of chest pain, unique delivery mechanism, and three year product shelf life, are just a few of the reasons why patients will prefer Nitrolingual® Pumpspray over nitroglycerin tablets for angina pectoris associated with heart disease.”
BurnsAdler is a specialty pharmaceutical company that in-licenses and promotes products in Europe, South America, Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. BurnsAdler’s portfolio currently includes products in the following fields: cardiovascular, orthopaedic, oncology and epilepsy.
EMS is a leading ethical company in the Brazilian market. EMS calls on over 100,000 physicians across the country including 8,000 cardiologists. Since 2003, the Company has invested over $220 million in additional production capacity, quality control and sales infrastructure.
Nitrolingual® Spray is the market leader within the sublingual segment of the nitroglycerin market in many major markets including the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Australia and Germany where it is marketed by Merck, Aventis, First Horizon, Aventis and Pohl Boskamp, respectively. The product is a sublingual spray of nitroglycerin used for the acute relief or prevention of chest pain associated with angina pectoris that results from heart disease. Pohl-Boskamp holds a patent that was issued in 1993 on the formulation of Nitrolingual®. The primary competitor to Nitrolingual® Pumpspray is short acting nitroglycerin tablets. Unlike tablets, which have been shown to lose their potency immediately upon opening the bottle, Nitrolingual® Pumpspray maintains its potency for three years. Further, studies have shown that the product provides for more rapid absorption than the tablets. Each metered dose of Nitrolingual® Pumpspray provides for consistent delivery of nitroglycerin. Also, unlike the tablets, the product requires less extensive storage and handling conditions. The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association’s Guidelines for the Management of Patients with Chronic Stable Angina published in March 2000 recommends sublingual nitroglycerin for the immediate relief of angina.
For additional information about this news release contact Carolina Cortez at +1.704.552.8410 Ext. 225. For additional information about BurnsAdler, please see the company’s website at www.burnsadler.com.