Separately The Company Anticipates Fourth Quarter 1998 Revenues
At A Record Level
EATONTOWN, N.J., Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Roberts Pharmaceutical Corporation
(Amex: RPC) today announced that its new late-stage development product,
designated RL0903, targets the treatment of prostate cancer in the United
States, Canada and Europe, a market estimated at over $2 billion.
Roberts said it acquired rights from Hydro Med Sciences to a patented
hydrogel implant delivery technology for use in the Phase III development of a
LHRH agonist for the hormonal treatment of prostate cancer. In consideration
of milestone payments and royalties on future sales, Roberts received
exclusive rights to develop and market this LHRH-Hydrogel Implant for the US,
Canada, and Europe.
The LHRH agonist, a Roberts' therapeutic, is a synthetic gonadotropic
hormone releasing factor agonist that, due to its long-term inhibition of
pituitary release of gonadotropins, can block both ovarian and testicular
function. The hydrogel implant employs a proprietary technology that delivers
therapeutic agents at a controlled, constant release rate for up to a year.
It is a retrievable subcutaneous implant that can be inserted in a physician's
office using a local anesthetic.
The LHRH-Hydrogel Implant offers potentially significant benefits over
standard drug therapies for prostate cancer that employ gonadotropin hormone
releasing agonists and involve administration regimens ranging from low-dosage
daily injections to high-dosage implants or depot injections of 3 to 4-months
duration. The LHRH-Hydrogel Implant should have distinct advantages by
providing a more potent, reliable administration of smaller amounts of
therapeutic agent over a longer time.
"RL0903 greatly enriches our development pipeline," said John T.
Spitznagel, Roberts' President and CEO. "We now have three compounds in or
nearing Phase III development which represent significant future sales
potential for Roberts. These include Dirame(R), a potent analgesic, and
Emitasol(R), an intranasal anti-emetic which was licensed from RiboGene
(Amex: RBO)."
Separately Roberts said it is also highly optimistic about its near-term
growth prospects. "With the additions of Pentasa(R), Agrylin(R), and
ProAmatine(R) to our portfolio of marketed products, Roberts has been
experiencing significant growth," said Mr. Spitznagel. He concluded by
noting, "We will soon announce year-end 1998 results and expect to report that
in the fourth quarter of the year Roberts achieved, by a wide margin, a record
level of revenues."
Roberts Pharmaceutical Corporation, with operating subsidiaries in the
United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, focuses on value-added specialty
pharmaceuticals in the therapeutic categories of gastroenterology, urology,
oncology/hematology, and cardiology/neurology. Roberts actively pursues its
strategy of Search & Develop to identify and acquire novel post-discovery drug
candidates to advance through late-stage clinical development while also
pursuing opportunities to acquire and enhance the potential of commercially
available specialty medicines.
This and past press releases of Roberts Pharmaceutical Corporation are
available through the Internet at the Roberts' home page at
http://www.robertspharm.com.
This release contains forward looking statements which are based on
assumptions and external factors, including assumptions relating to, but not
limited to regulatory action, product pricing, competitive market conditions,
unaudited financial data, new product development and other risks or
uncertainties detailed from time to time in Roberts filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements
represent the Company's judgment as of the date of this release and any
changes in the assumptions or external factors could produce significantly
different results.
SOURCE Roberts Pharmaceuticals Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.robertspharm.com
CONTACT:
Janet Browning of Roberts Pharmaceuticals,
732-676-1200, ext. 3077
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