Co-Promotion Agreement

9 May 2005 07:00

Alliance Pharma PLC09 May 2005 For immediate release 9 May 2005 ALLIANCE PHARMA PLC ("Alliance Pharma" or "the Company") Announces Co-Promotion Agreement with OralDent Ltd Alliance Pharma plc (AIM: APH), an emerging speciality pharmaceutical company,is pleased to announce a co-promotion agreement with OralDent Ltd ("OralDent"),a privately owned dental products company, for the UK marketing and distributionof Periostat(R), a prescription medicine for the treatment of the severe gumdisease periodontitis. Periostat is a major growth opportunity for Alliance Pharma and this agreementwith OralDent marks the first step in the roll-out of the product across theterritories for which the Company holds marketing rights. Alliance Pharmaacquired the rights in November 2004 from CollaGenex International Ltd, part ofCollaGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc (Nasdaq: CGPI), for the territories of theenlarged European Union, Switzerland, Israel, Australia, New Zealand and SouthAfrica. The international roll-out of the product will be led by a senior internationalmanager, who was recently appointed to head the Company's newly formedInternational Division. OralDent focuses on promoting products to private and NHS dentists in the UK viaa field sales force, a tele-sales operation and an internet portal. AlliancePharma will contribute resources to enable OralDent to increase the size of itssales force to maximise the sales of Periostat. Alliance Pharma will recognisethe Periostat sales and OralDent will receive sales-based royalties on a slidingscale between 5%per cent and 15% per cent. Periostat is the first and only approved oral pharmaceutical product for theadjunctive treatment of adult periodontal disease (periodontitis) by thesuppression of those enzymes that destroy periodontal support tissues. Periostatis included in the Secretary of State for Health's list for dental prescribingand is listed on the UK's Dental Practitioners' Formulary. Periodontitis isestimated to affect 11 per cent of the adult population in the UK. Commenting, John Dawson, Alliance Pharma's Chief Executive, said: "Periostat isa major growth opportunity for the Company and this UK co-promotion agreement isan important first step in maximising the potential of the product. OralDent hasa particularly strong franchise in the UK dental market and we look forward to asuccessful collaboration with them." For further information: Alliance Pharma plc + 44 (0) 1249 466966John Dawson, Chief ExecutiveMaddy Scott, Finance Directorwww.alliancepharma.co.uk Numis Securities + 44 (0) 20 7776 1500Charles Spicer Buchanan Communications + 44 (0) 20 7466 5000Mark Court/Lisa Baderoon/Rebecca Skye Dietrich Notes to editors About Alliance PharmaAlliance Pharma, founded in 1996, is an AIM listed emerging speciality pharmaceutical company based in Chippenham, Wiltshire, UK. The company has a strong track record of acquiring the rights to established niche brands and owns, or shares, the rights to 30 branded pharmaceutical products and continues to explore opportunities to expand the range. Alliance Pharma's products are prescribed in the treatment of a wide range of conditions and include brands used in the prevention of heart disease, in Parkinson's disease, in nutrition, in nasal infections, in the treatment of dermatological conditions and in childbirth. Alliance Pharma's sales are mainly prescription driven. Its products are distributed to hospitals directly and to pharmaceutical wholesalers which service both hospital and retail pharmacies withtheir prescription requirements. Alliance Pharma is also developing new products for sleep disorders and the induction of labour. Alliance Pharma joined the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in December2003 and trades under the symbol APH. About Oraldent LtdOraldent Ltd formed in 1985 is based in St.Neots, Cambridgeshire and is asubsidiary of Omni Dental sciences Ltd. Oraldent Ltd has a strong brand namewithin the professional dental market in the UK. Oraldent specialises inmarketing and distributing high value added dental products which have provenmarket and scientific support via its experienced dental marketing and salesteam. Oraldent's product focus is primarily in the preventative market aimed athelping the UK dental professional to prevent and treat periodontal disease. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange