Dragon Pharmaceutical Inc's recombinant Erythropoietin (EPO) product has been approved for sales and marketing in Ecuador by its Ministry of Public Health. In addition to China, India, Egypt, Brazil and Peru, Dragon's EPO is now approved and marketed in six countries in Asia, South America and the Middle East. Additional regulatory approvals are expected among other non-patented countries, according to a company release.

"It is very encouraging to Dragon because the market approval in Ecuador for our EPO represents a valuable validation to our ability to commercialize the product internationally outside of China. As part of our initiatives as evidenced in the proposed acquisition of Oriental Wave Holding Limited and in-licensing of the G-CSF product from Zhongkai Bio-Pharmaceuticals as previously announced, we will continue to leverage our regulatory and marketing expertise and partnership to commercialize more pharmaceutical products internationally." said Dr. Alexander Wick, president and CEO of Dragon. "While we continue to achieve momentum in obtaining market approval among non-patented countries, we are also focusing on the final preparation to enter the European Union market," he added.

Dragon Pharmaceutical Inc announced entering into a definitive agreement to acquire Oriental Wave Holdings Ltd. The proposed acquisition is subject to a number of conditions including regulatory and shareholders approval.

Dragon Pharmaceutical Inc is an international bio-pharmaceutical company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, with a GMP production facility in Nanjing, China. Dragon's EPO is currently approved to treat anaemia due to renal failure and surgery in 6 countries- China, India, Brazil, Egypt, Peru, and Ecuador. Additional regulatory submissions are in progress throughout Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa and the Company is in the final preparation to enter the European Union market.