Egalet Corporation, which is developing several treatments for chronic pain, has announced the acquisition of Sprix ketorolac tromethamine nasal spray from Daiichi Sankyo subsidiary Luitpold Pharmaceuticals for $7 million. Ketorolac is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to treat moderate to moderately severe pain. The company also announced that it had licensed an abuse-deterrent oxycodone marketed as Oxaydo.
Luitpold will provide assistance with the transition for the first six months while Egalet takes over responsibility for marketing the product, which it says it will begin promoting during the first quarter of 2015.
Sprix was approved by the FDA in May 2010, and its developer, Roxro, was acquired by Luitpold in December 2010. The product was launched in the US in May 2011 and has been distributed by Luitpold’s Regency Therapeutics division.
Egalet President and CEO Bob Radie said, “The license and acquisition of Oxaydo and Sprix, two approved innovative pain treatments, helps transform Egalet into a fully integrated specialty pharmaceutical company in advance of the approval of our highly differentiated, late-stage pipeline of abuse-deterrent, extended-release products. These products, an immediate-release opioid formulated to deter abuse and a nasal spray NSAID delivering pain relief at an opioid level, are natural fits given our focus on providing patients treatment options for pain that may help deter abuse and misuse as well as accelerate our path to revenue generation and profitability.”
Read the Egalet press release.
