Entropin Inc, a pharmaceutical development company, announced that it has awarded the commercial clinical packaging contract for Esterom, a topical therapeutic for acute painful shoulder and lower back sprain, to Automatic Liquid Packaging (ALP), a subsidiary of Cardinal Health.

Automatic Liquid Packaging is a leading provider of aseptic custom manufacturing and packaging for pharmaceutical and health-care applications. ALP's proprietary, state-of-the-art "Blow/Fill/Seal" technology provides container fabrication, aseptic filling and sealing in an integrated operation for sterile liquid pharmaceuticals and other topical, oral, inhaled and ophthalmic formulations.

Commenting on this milestone, Thomas G. Tachovsky, Entropin's president and chief executive officer, said, "The development of this relationship with ALP is an important step as Entropin prepares for upcoming clinical trials and the ultimate commercialization of Esterom. A partnership with a packaging company of ALP's caliber is vital to the progression of our company and our product."

ALP's initial responsibility is to package Esterom for the upcoming clinical trial announced on April 16, 2001. The Entropin team has been planning its next trial since the results of the Phase IIIA trial were released in October 2000. Dr. Tachovsky reported that between October 2000 and April 2001, a "blue ribbon" panel of experts was assembled to assist with the evaluation of the data from the Phase IIIA study and the preparation of the protocol for the upcoming trial.