EXHIBIT 99.1
COLUMBIA LABORATORIES SIGNS U.S. LICENSE AND SUPPLY AGREEMENT WITH ASCEND THERAPEUTICS TO MARKET PROCHIEVE® 4% PROGESTERONE GEL
LIVINGSTON, NJ— September 27, 2007—Columbia Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBRX) today announced that it has signed an exclusive, five year license and supply agreement with Ascend Therapeutics, Inc., for the Company’s PROCHIEVE ® 4% progesterone gel, currently indicated and FDA-approved for the treatment of secondary amenorrhea (secondary amenorrhea is lack of periods for 6 or more months in a woman who has already started menstruation and who is not pregnant, lactating, or in menopause).
Under terms of the agreement, effective January 1, 2008, Ascend Therapeutics will be responsible for marketing and sales of PROCHIEVE ® 4% in the United States using its existing 100-person sales force that calls on a broad range of obstetricians and gynecologists (OB/GYNs). Ascend will purchase product from Columbia at a transfer price equal to 35% of its net selling price with minimum annual purchase obligations that increase over the life of the agreement.
“We are pleased to announce this exclusive agreement with Ascend Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company with an established and growing franchise in women’s health,” stated Robert S. Mills, president and chief executive officer of Columbia Laboratories. “Ascend Therapeutics represents the perfect partner to increase sales of PROCHIEVE ® 4%, given their ability to effectively reach over 14,000 physicians who are likely to prescribe progesterone but are not on our infertility target list of reproductive endocrinologists and OB/GYNs who treat infertility. With Ascend Therapeutics’ efforts, we expect sales of PROCHIEVE® 4% to increase significantly over the agreement term. This, in turn, will allow Columbia to maintain its renewed focus on the specialized, infertility market.”
“We are pleased to have the opportunity to promote a therapeutic option to treat a condition common among women. As we continue to foster and build our specialty with the OB/GYN community, PROCHIEVE ® 4% will be integral to our success and will add value to our overall women's health care franchise,” said Jay Bua president of Ascend.
About Columbia Laboratories Columbia Laboratories, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and marketing products for the women’s healthcare and endocrinology markets using its novel bioadhesive drug delivery technology. Columbia markets CRINONE® 8% (progesterone gel) and PROCHIEVE® 8% (progesterone gel) in the United States for progesterone supplementation as part of an Assisted Reproductive Technology treatment for infertile women with progesterone deficiency. The Company also markets STRIANT® (testosterone buccal system) for the treatment of hypogonadism in men. The Company’s research and development programs include a vaginal lidocaine product to prevent and treat dysmenorrhea and PROCHIEVE 8% to reduce the risk of preterm birth in women with a short cervix in mid-pregnancy. For more information, please visit www.columbialabs.com.
|