Stellar Pharmaceuticals Inc (Stellar), a Canadian pharmaceutical developer and marketer of high quality, cost-effective products for select health care markets, reported signing a licensing agreement for the distribution and sale of Uracyst in the United Kingdom and Ireland, with Galen Limited (Galen), a privately-owned pharmaceutical sales and marketing company established in 1968. Based in Craigavon (Northern Ireland), Galen promotes branded and generic prescription medicines in the United Kingdom and Ireland, with a major focus on urology. Uracyst is Stellar's proprietary urology product used in the treatment of interstitial cystitis and painful bladder syndrome.
With the approved CE mark for Uracyst already in place for the European market, it is expected that Uracyst will be launched early in the first quarter of 2009. Galen will pay Stellar an upfront milestone payment plus a specified transfer price in exchange for the rights to an exclusive license for this territory. This agreement has an initial ten year term and may be renewed for an additional three year term with the mutual agreement of both parties.
Peter Riehl, Stellar's president and chief executive officer, stated, "The UK and Ireland market is ranked as one of the top three pharmaceutical markets in Europe, with a population of over 64 million and Stellar is very pleased to have a company with Galen's experience promoting Uracyst. They have the sales force reach and expertise to successfully market and sell Uracyst in this key market. The out-licensing of Uracyst is an important component of Stellar's overall global growth strategy and we expect this to be the first of a number of agreements to follow for the important European market."
This licensing deal was brokered by Bosfor Bioscience Partners, an international pharmaceutical business development consulting firm operating in Turkey. Dr Selcuk Ozceada, the managing director of Bosfor in Istanbul, commented, "Bosfor is delighted with this deal between Stellar and Galen which has the necessary local expertise in the urology and women's health areas. It is our opinion, that in many cases, licensors get a better overall result by doing a number of deals with single distributors that have local expertise, rather than one pan-territory deal. This extra effort is very much worthwhile and should be reflected in the sales figures."
Galen Limited is a UK specialty Pharma company with a successful history of marketing urology products in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.