HAWTHORNE, N.Y., July 15, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. ("Taro," the "Company") (Pink Sheets:TAROF) announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent covering its Ovide(r) (malathion) lotion, 0.5% (patent no. US 7,560,445).
The patent is for a highly pure form of malathion for topical pharmaceutical use and a method of making pure pharmaceutical grade malathion, as well as for a formulation containing the pharmaceutical grade malathion and a method for treating head lice.
In the past year over 250,000 prescriptions for Ovide(r) (malathion) lotion, 0.5% were filled in the U.S., making Ovide(r) the number one prescription treatment for head lice in the U.S. The American Academy of Pediatrics estimates that between 6 to 12 million Americans are infested with head lice each year, with school children and their families most affected.
Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. is a multinational, science-based pharmaceutical company, dedicated to meeting the needs of its customers through the discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of the highest quality healthcare products.
For further information on Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., please visit the Company's website at www.taro.com.
The Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=4733
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT
Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the Company's patent for Ovide(r) (malathion) lotion, 0.5%. Although Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. believes the expectations reflected in such statements to be based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include industry and market conditions; slower than anticipated penetration of new markets; physician, pharmacist or patient acceptance of Taro's Ovide(r) and other products; changes in the Company's financial position; regulatory actions; and, other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including its Annual Reports on Form 20-F. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update, change or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, additional or subsequent developments or otherwise.