Flamel Technologies has announced that TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc has licensed the worldwide rights for Flamel's Micropump technology, a controlled release technology for the oral administration of small molecule drugs, for potential use in the delivery of lansoprazole, the active ingredient in TAP's product Prevacid.

Under the terms of the license agreement, TAP will pay all costs of further development, testing, regulatory approval and marketing of the new formulation. Flamel also has the potential to earn more than $100 million of milestones and will receive royalties on sales of the product.

Gerard Soula, founder, president and chief executive officer of Flamel, said, "We are pleased to develop with TAP an extended release formulation of lansoprazole using our Micropump technology. This improved formulation will be investigated for providing better efficacy for patients. This is a new key opportunity for Flamel to apply its unique Micropump technology."

"This collaboration represents an opportunity to potentially expand the Prevacid franchise beyond our current formulations, including Prevacid SoluTab and Prevacid IV for injection," said Xavier Frapaise, vice president of research and development for TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc.

The License Agreement also contemplates potential further arrangements between TAP and Flamel with respect to other proton pump inhibitors.

Prevacid is the seventh largest selling drug in the United States, with 2003 sales of nearly $3.2 billion in the United States. Prevacid works by helping prevent the creation of acid in the stomach, which may cause heartburn and can lead to a condition known as acid-reflux disease, caused when stomach acid backs up into the esophagus.

Flamel Technologies, S.A. is a biopharmaceutical company principally engaged in the development of two unique polymer-based delivery technologies for medical applications. Micropump is a controlled release and taste- masking technology for the oral administration of small molecule drugs. Flamel's Medusa technology is designed to deliver controlled-release formulations of therapeutic proteins.