Cardiome Pharma Corp. has signed an agreement with Austria-based, AOP Orphan Pharmaceuticals AG, to commercialise Brinavess  (vernakalant intravenous) in select European markets. AOP Orphan will support Cardiome in obtaining product registrations required for the marketing and sale of Brinavess  in the AOP Orphan countries and will actively call on customers to promote the product.

Under terms of the agreement, AOP Orphan has agreed to specific annual commercial goals for Brinavess . Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

“Execution of the Brinavess  commercial agreement with AOP Orphan fulfills a key objective in Cardiome’s European commercialization strategy,” said William Hunter, MD, CEO of Cardiome. “Through the agreement, additional physicians and patients beyond the reach of our current sales force will have access to Brinavess . We are very pleased to have partnered with such a well-known, highly experienced and respected company.”

“We are excited to partner and work with Cardiome, and to add Brinavess  to our cardiovascular drug portfolio,” said Rudolf Widmann, Ph.D., CEO of AOP Orphan. “The synergies that exist between Brinavess  and our cardiovascular franchise should enable us to build on our existing customer base by offering a complementary product and develop new customer relationships which are key to our future growth.”

The initial term of this commercial agreement begins July 1, 2013 for the duration of three years and is renewable on an annual basis, or longer, thereafter. The AOP Orphan countries include: Austria; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; Croatia; Czech Republic; Estonia; Hungary; Kazakhstan; Latvia; Lithuania; Montenegro; Macedonia; Poland; Romania; Serbia; Slovakia; Slovenia; Switzerland; and Ukraine.

Cardiome Pharma Corp. is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of new therapies that will improve the health of patients around the world.