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Zogenix, Astellas end co-promotion
agreement early
12-28-2011
EDIT CONNECT
SHARING OPTIONS:
SAN DIEGO—Pharmaceutical company Zogenix, Inc., which
commercializes and develops products for the treatment of central
nervous
system disorders and pain, recently announced the end of the co-promotion of
SUMAVEL DosePro Needle-free Delivery System with along with Astellas Pharma US,
Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma Inc. The co-promotion
will end on March 31,
2012, and as of the second quarter of 2012, Zogenix will
assume full responsibility for continued commercialization on the brand and
will no longer pay
service fees to Astellas. The company is evaluating
potential co-promotion partners who could complement the efforts of its sales
force. Neither
Zogenix nor Astellas will face any penalty payments related to
the early termination of the agreement, which was originally set to expire June
30,
2013. Astellas will continue to contribute its agreed upon portion of
marketing expenses through March 31, 2012, and will continue earning a service
fee based on product sales to its physician segment throughout that time
period.
"The
conclusion of our co-promotion agreement with
Astellas starting in the second quarter will lower expenses as a result of the
elimination of the service
fee," Roger Hawley, chief executive officer of
Zogenix, said in a press release. "We are evaluating a number of potential
pharmaceutical company
partners who have expressed interest in promoting
SUMAVEL DosePro within their prescriber audiences. Alternatively, we will
explore a modest expansion
of our sales force. We expect to provide an update
on these activities by the end of the first quarter."
The SUMAVEL DosePro system was launched with Astellas, in
January 2010 as an acute treatment for migraine and cluster headache
in the
United States. Zogenix focused primarily on marketing to the neurology market,
while Astellas focused primarily on primary care physicians.
Zogenix expects minimal impact on brand cash flow next year,
given the current sales trends. In Q3
2011, the company generated 63 percent of
SUMAVEL DosePro unit demand from specialists within its segment. They are still
meeting expectations for the
brand, as the prescription refill rate held at 38
percent in the third quarter, and total prescriptions increased 16 percent in
the first ten weeks of
Q4 over the first ten weeks of Q3.
"Beginning in January the recently expanded Zogenix sales
force…will start transitioning all of the highest prescribers of SUMAVEL into
primary care segment," said Hawley in a conference call. "We will also
work
with Astellas to create a detailed customer transition plan by February 1 with
the goal of uninterrupted access and service to prescribers within
the Astellas
segment. We believe we can achieve our goals to accelerate the growth of the
brand with minimal disruption to the existing primary care
prescribers."
Hawley added that in 2012, the company will "leverage our
strong relationships
with our neurologists and headache specialists to create
more brand awareness among prim care physicians," and believes that the
agreement amendment
"provides us with the best opportunity to accelerate
adoption of SUMAVEL DosePro."
"Our long-
term goal with SUMAVEL DosePro is unchanged,"
said Hawley in a press release. "The unmet patient need is significant. We have
a clear objective to
get more physicians to treat the varying intensity of the
attacks with the right form of triptan therapy and focus on pain-free outcomes
as the acute
treatment goal." Code: E12281102 Back |
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