SAN DIEGO, Sept. 1, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Apricus Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq:APRI), a biopharmaceutical company advancing innovative medicines in urology and rheumatology, today announced the launch of Vitaros® in Italy by Bracco SpA. Vitaros, Apricus' novel topical on-demand treatment for erectile dysfunction ("ED"), is also marketed under the trademark Vytaros® in Belgium and Virirec(TM) in Spain. This is the seventh country in the European Union in which the product has been launched, including France, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Belgium and Sweden. In total, Vitaros is currently approved under the European Decentralized Procedure ("DCP") in twenty-two countries, of which fourteen have further approved Vitaros for commercialization at the national phase level of the DCP approval process.
Richard Pascoe, Chief Executive Officer of Apricus, commented, "We are pleased to announce Bracco's launch of Vitaros, the first on-demand topical treatment, in Italy, Europe's second largest ED treatment market which Bracco estimates to be approximately $135 million. As another contributor towards the positive momentum of commercialization by our partners, which recently produced 103% growth in units quarter over quarter, Bracco plans to implement a strong promotional strategy targeted at physicians across Italy. With this news, the product is now launched in the five largest markets in Europe."
In December 2010, Apricus signed an exclusive license agreement with Bracco to market Vitaros, in Italy, Vatican City and San Marino (the "Territory"). Under the terms of the agreement, Apricus has received $1.3 million in up-front and milestone payments from Bracco. Apricus is also eligible to receive milestone payments on future sales, plus double-digit tiered royalties based on Bracco's net sales of the product in the Territory. In exchange, Bracco has the exclusive right to commercialize Vitaros in the Territory. In addition, Bracco has agreed to certain minimum marketing commitments for Vitaros. |
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