Medicure acquires License to Sell and Market PREXXARTAN in the U.S. from Carmel

Medicure International has acquired an exclusive license to sell and market PREXXARTAN (valsartan) oral solution in the United States and its territories from Carmel Biosciences, Inc. for a seven year term with extensions to the term available.

PREXXARTAN has been granted tentative approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; the tentative approval is eligible for conversion to final approval by the end of 2017 and the Company intends to launch the product using its existing commercial sales force and infrastructure with a target commercial launch date before the end of the first quarter of 2018.

Medicure has acquired the license rights for an upfront payment of US$100,000, with an additional US$400,000 payable on final FDA approval. Carmel will also receive royalties and milestone payments from the net revenues of PREXXARTAN.

“The licensing of PREXXARTAN fits well with Medicure’s mission of being a significant cardiovascular specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the U.S. market,” commented Medicure’s President and CEO, Albert D. Friesen, PhD.  “PREXXARTAN will add to Medicure’s revenue in the near term and utilizes the current commercial infrastructure in place for AGGRASTAT (tirofiban hydrochloride).”

“As a specialty cardiovascular pharmaceutical company, Medicure is an outstanding and knowledgeable partner for the distribution and commercialization of products such as PREXXARTAN.” said Bobby V. Khan, M.D., Ph.D., Carmel founder and Executive Director. “We believe this partnership validates the potential of PREXXARTAN and our platform to focus on an unmet need — to expand treatment options to patients with hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases.”