Atrix Laboratories, Inc., an emerging specialty pharmaceutical company, announced that MediGene AG, the European licensee for the Eligard prostate cancer products (leuprolide acetate for injectable suspension; formerly known as Leuprogel in Europe) has named Yamanouchi as its pan-European marketing partner. Earlier this month, Eligard 7.5mg for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer received marketing authorization from the German pharmaceutical regulatory authority, Bundesinstitut fur Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte (BfArM).

"Yamanouchi is an excellent choice to market the Eligard product line throughout Europe," said David Bethune, Atrix's chairman and CEO. "With competitively sized sales forces in all major European pharmaceutical markets and Euro 492 million ($626 million USD) in fiscal 2002 sales, the majority of their European sales come in the therapeutic area of urology. Second only to Pfizer in European urology sales, Yamanouchi views Eligard as essential for realizing their goal to become the number one urology company in Europe. Yamanouchi, with MediGene, will initially launch Eligard in Germany and later throughout Europe pending approval in additional European countries."

The prominent urology pharmaceutical product marketed by Yamanouchi is Omnic/Flomax (tamsulosin), the number one treatment for benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) in the world. Additionally, the company is in registration in Europe for Vesicare (solifenacin), which it expects will be a leading treatment for overactive bladder. The sublicensing of MediGene with Yamanouchi does not change the financial terms of the agreement between Atrix and MediGene. Atrix will receive royalty payments based on the sales of Eligard and will manufacture Eligard for MediGene at its facility in Fort Collins, Colorado.