DAYTON, Ohio, Aug. 6, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Eurand N.V. (Nasdaq:EURX) today announced that Eurand Inc. and UCB, Inc. have settled long-running litigation concerning a 1999 development, license and supply agreement between the two companies for a sustained-release formulation of methylphenidate hydrochloride (MPH) co-developed by Eurand and currently marketed by UCB under the brand names Metadate(r) CD and Equasym(r) XL for the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
The settlement is expected to close by September 5, 2008. UCB will pay Eurand a total of $35 million, as follows:
* $25 million paid at closing * $5 million, plus interest, at the first anniversary of the closing * $5 million, plus interest, at the second anniversary of the closing.
Upon closing, all claims and counterclaims in the litigation will be dismissed with prejudice. All other terms and conditions of the settlement are confidential and will not be disclosed.
About Eurand
Eurand is a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and commercializes enhanced pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical products based on its proprietary drug formulation technologies. Eurand has had four partnered products approved by the FDA since 2001 and has a pipeline of product candidates in development for itself and its collaboration partners. Eurand completed two phase III clinical trials for EUR-1008 (Zentase), intended for the treatment of Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency and, as announced on June 18, 2008, received an approvable letter from the FDA for its NDA for this product. Eurand's technology platforms include bioavailability enhancement of poorly soluble drugs, customized release, taste-masking/fast-dissolving formulations and drug conjugation.
Eurand is a global company with facilities in the USA and Europe. For more information, visit Eurand's website at www.eurand.com.
Eurand Forward-Looking Statement
This release, and oral statements made with respect to information contained in this release, constitutes forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include those which express plan, anticipation, intent, contingency, goals, targets or future development and/or otherwise are not statements of historical fact including, but not limited to the future and status of our NDA filing for EUR-1008, enrollment and future plans for our clinical trials, progress of and reports of results from clinical studies, clinical development plans and product development activities. The words "potentially", "anticipates", "could", "calls for" and similar expressions also identify forward-looking statements. These statements are based upon management's current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties, known and unknown, which could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Factors that could affect actual results include risks associated with the possibility that the FDA does not approve our NDA or continues to delay approval; the outcome of any discussions with the FDA; and unexpected delays or additional requirements in preparation of materials for submission to the FDA as a part of our NDA filing. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of this date, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Actual events could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements.