Oceana Therapeutics, a global company focused on acquiring, developing and commercializing best-in-class specialty therapeutics, announced that the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Gastroenterology and Urology Devices Panel recommended approval of Solesta as a treatment for fecal (bowel) incontinence, a condition afflicting many Americans, primarily women.

As scheduled, the Advisory Panel met on December 2nd to discuss the Pre-Marketing Approval application (PMA) for Solesta. Following their review of the PMA data, the Panel voted to recommend approval. Although the FDA is not required to follow Panel recommendations, it often does.

John T. Spitznagel, Oceana's chairman & CEO, said, "The Advisory Committee's recommendation represents a significant milestone toward obtaining US approval of Solesta for a largely unsatisfied medical problem. Bowel incontinence can substantially impair a patient's quality of life, and currently many patients fall into a treatment gap that exists between conservative therapies such as diet control and more aggressive intervention such as surgery.

Solesta is an injectable gel that has been developed to be administered in an outpatient setting without the need for anaesthesia. "Thus, we believe Solesta has the potential of becoming an important treatment option for US patients with bowel incontinence," said Spitznagel.

David S. Tierney, MD, Oceana's president & COO, said, "We are pleased with the Panel's recommendation for approval of Solesta and look forward to continuing discussions with the FDA during the remainder of this regulatory review process." He further noted, "Today's announced key progress toward US approval is a testimony to the dedication, experience and excellence of the Oceana team and the strength of our working relationship with Q-Med."

Oceana Therapeutics obtained the exclusive worldwide marketing rights to Solesta from Q-Med AB in June 2009 and has since collaborated on controlled studies of the product's effectiveness and safety. Solesta utilizes Q-med's proprietary Nasha technology.

Founded in mid-2008 by award winning healthcare professionals, Oceana Therapeutics is committed to commercializing best-in-class therapeutics to address unmet and under-satisfied medical needs with a focus on gastroenterology, urology and other specialty categories. With executive offices in Edison, New Jersey and European operations headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Oceana is exceptionally well positioned to pursue worldwide opportunities to acquire and maximize the potential of approved and late-stage specialty therapeutics, including pharmaceuticals, devices, and diagnostics.