DANBURY, Conn., Sept. 7, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Penwest Pharmaceuticals Co. (Nasdaq:PPCO) today announced that it has signed a research and development agreement with Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. of Japan to develop a formulation of an undisclosed Otsuka compound utilizing Penwest's TIMERx(r) drug delivery technology. Under the terms of the agreement, Penwest will receive undisclosed fees and payments.
Jennifer L. Good, Penwest's President and CEO, said, "We are pleased to have signed this research and development agreement with Otsuka. This collaboration fits with our previously announced strategy to leverage the value of our proprietary drug delivery technologies by licensing to other companies our TIMERx drug delivery technology to enhance the therapeutic profiles of existing compounds outside our focus area in neurology. We believe that these arrangements will provide additional financial benefit to Penwest while still permitting us to continue to focus on building our own product pipeline."
Penwest Pharmaceuticals
Penwest is a drug development pharmaceutical company dedicated to bringing to the marketplace innovative products that help improve the lives of patients. The Company's goal is to identify, develop and commercialize prescription products that address unmet medical needs, primarily for diseases of the nervous system. Penwest is currently applying its drug delivery and drug development expertise to a pipeline of potential products that are in various stages of development and that it intends to commercialize independently or through third party alliances.
Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Founded in 1964, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. is a global healthcare company with the corporate philosophy: 'Otsuka - people creating new products for better health worldwide.' Otsuka researches, develops, manufactures and markets innovative and original products, with a focus on pharmaceutical products for the treatment of diseases and consumer products for the maintenance of everyday health. Otsuka is committed to being a corporation that creates global value, adhering to the high ethical standards required of a company involved in human health and life, maintaining a dynamic corporate culture, and working in harmony with local communities and the natural environment.
The Otsuka Pharmaceutical Group comprises 99 companies and employs approximately 31,000 people in 17 countries and regions worldwide. Otsuka and its consolidated subsidiaries earned US$7.2 billion in annual revenues in fiscal 2006.
Penwest Forward-Looking Statement
The matters discussed herein contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause Penwest's actual results in future periods to be materially different from any future performance suggested herein. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words, "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "intends," "potential," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause results to differ materially include: risks relating to the commercial success of our products and our reliance on our partners for the commercial success of certain of these products; regulatory risks relating to drugs in development, including the timing and outcome of regulatory submissions and regulatory actions; uncertainty of success of collaborations; the timing of clinical trials, including the impact of enrollment rates; whether the results of clinical trials will warrant further clinical trials or warrant submission of an application for regulatory approval of, or the regulatory approval of, the product that is the subject of the trial; actual and potential competition; the need for capital; and other risks as set forth under the caption Risk Factors in Penwest's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 8, 2007, which risk factors are incorporated herein by reference.
The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date of the statement made. Penwest disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements. TIMERx is a registered trademark of Penwest. All other trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.