MILAN, Italy and DAYTON, Ohio, April 29, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Eurand N.V. (Nasdaq:EURX), a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and commercializes enhanced pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical products based on its proprietary drug formulation technologies, announced today that Chattem, Inc. ("Chattem") has launched a new orally disintegrating tablet ("ODT") formulation of its popular over-the-counter (OTC) sleep-aid brand, Unisom(r).
Unisom(r) SleepMelts(tm), which contains 25mg of diphenhydramine hydrochloride, was developed by Eurand using its AdvaTab(r) and Microcaps(r) taste-masking technologies. The product was developed as part of the EUR-1047 program. Unisom(r) SleepMelts(tm), an OTC sleep-aid, is now available in leading U.S. mass merchandiser, drug and food retailers. Eurand will exclusively supply the product for Chattem, which will be manufactured at Eurand's U.S. facility in Vandalia, OH.
Gearoid Faherty, Chief Executive Officer of Eurand, commented, "We are pleased to complete the development and witness the launch of our diphenhydramine ODT product under Chattem's Unisom(r) brand name. Chattem is a leading marketer of OTC healthcare brands and we are looking forward to working with them on the successful commercialization of this product in the U.S. The launch of Unisom(r) SleepMelts(tm) represents the first product to be commercialized using our AdvaTab ODT technology and is further evidence of the strength of our drug formulation technology and development capabilities."
About AdvaTab(r)
Eurand's AdvaTab(r) technology utilizes proprietary granulation and tabletting processes to provide an orally disintegrating tablet with superior mouth-feel attributes. When combined with Eurand's Microcaps(r) taste-masking technology, AdvaTab ODTs are one of the leading orally disintegrating tablet systems available to the pharmaceutical industry today. Key features of AdvaTab include: excellent mouth-feel; tablets that can be packaged in bottles or blisters; rapid disintegration in the oral cavity; ability to incorporate microencapsulated drug particles; and the capacity to incorporate larger drug doses than conventional ODT technologies.
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 has completed two phase III clinical trials on its lead product candidate, EUR-1008 (Zentase), intended for the treatment of pancreatic insufficiency and has submitted an 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.
About Chattem
Chattem, Inc. is a leading marketer and manufacturer of a broad portfolio of branded OTC healthcare products, toiletries and dietary supplements. The Company's products target niche market segments and are among the market leaders in their respective categories across food, drug and mass merchandisers. The Company's portfolio of products includes well-recognized brands such as Icy Hot, Gold Bond, Selsun Blue, ACT, Cortizone-10 and Unisom. Chattem conducts a portion of its global business through subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada. For more information, visit Chattem's website at www.chattem.com.
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 our plans for our NDA filing, 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", "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 refuses to approve our NDA; the outcome of any discussions with the FDA; and unexpected delays 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.