BMP Sunstone Corporation announced the official launch of Ferriprox in the People's Republic of China. The company will market and distribute Ferriprox under its five-year licensing agreement with Apotex, Inc. As part of the launch, the company has held physician seminars in cities throughout Guangdong and Guangxi provinces.
Ferriprox treats iron overload in the bloodstream which is often associated with thalassemia, a disease that can lead to organ damage and heart failure. Thalassemia is particularly prevalent in humid environments, like in Southern China, where it is estimated that 7-8% of the population needs treatment for the disease. Ferriprox is currently sold in over 50 countries worldwide and is already approved for sale by China's State Food & Drug Administration (SFDA). Ferriprox is the only oral formulation in the class of iron chelator in China, and has proven to be very effective in reducing chronic iron overload, especially in the heart.
We are pleased to introduce a product that could help a portion of the 15.0 million people in China who develop thalassemia each year. While many physicians are already aware of the relative benefits of Ferriprox, we are excited to further their understanding of Ferriprox at our launch events held this week in Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, including in Guangzhou, which is one of our largest potential markets. This event, targeted to doctors and local distributors, features internationally-renown physician experts in the fields of cardiology and haematology, as well as Dr. Michael Spino, President of ApoPharma Inc., stated David Gao, chief executive officer of BMP Sunstone.
Gao continued, Ferriprox is a cost-effective thalassemia treatment, which we believe will result in greater drug compliance than competing injectable formulations. We also feel strongly that our sales and marketing capabilities can create a compelling addressable market and our distribution relationships can bolster our sales performance. We continue to believe that Ferriprox can have a meaningful revenue contribution for BMP Sunstone in 2009 and beyond.
Apotex Inc. is the largest Canadian-owned pharmaceutical company, headquartered in Ontario with 5,500 employees and 21 facilities. It exports medicines to 115 countries and has an R&D budget expenditure planned of $2.0 billion over the next 10 years. Apotex researches, develops and manufactures over 300 medicines and fills over 72 million prescriptions in Canada per year.
ApoPharma Inc. is a Canadian pharmaceutical company that is devoted to the discovery and development of new medications to treat disorders of iron metabolism and also selected diseases of the skin.
BMP Sunstone Corporation is a specialty pharmaceutical company that is building a proprietary portfolio of branded pharmaceutical and healthcare products in China and is pursuing partnerships with other companies seeking to enter the Chinese pharmaceutical market.