WARNER-LAMBERT ACQUIRING 34% STAKE IN JOUVEINAL FOR $200 MIL.

WARNER-LAMBERT ACQUIRING 34% STAKE IN JOUVEINAL FOR $200 MIL. under an agreement that will give Warner-Lambert the right of first refusal to develop products from the French pharmaceutical firm's R&D pipeline for markets outside France and French-speaking Africa and Canada. The deal, which was announced by the two companies on Jan. 28, also gives Warner-Lambert the right of first refusal to acquire privately held Jouveinal S.A.

In 1992, Jouveinal's sales grew 14% to more than 1 bil. French francs, or over $200 mil., with about 85% of the company's business in France.

Ethical pharmaceuticals accounted for about 73% of Jouveinal's revenues, or approximately $145-150 mil., while OTCs generated about 8% of the company's sales, or about $16 mil. Founded in 1927, Jouveinal also manufactures fine chemicals and food flavorings.

In addition to receiving the right of first refusal to develop any of the French company's existing or future compounds for most of the world's major pharmaceutical markets, Warner-Lambert also is receiving two positions on Jouveinal's board of directors, including membership on the board's strategic planning and R&D committees.

Jouveinal is a rare find in the pharmaceutical industry for Warner-Lambert: the French company's prescription product line is relatively unencumbered by out-licensing agreements with other companies.

Jouveinal's Debridat (trimebutine), the first product from the company's in-house research, appears to be the one exception. Available in France since 1970, the gastrointestinal anti- spasmodic has been out-licensed throughout most of the non-English speaking world, including most of Europe, Japan and South America. The product is not marketed in the U.S.

Jouveinal's other primary ethical products include Pivalone (tixocortol pivalate), a nasal spray for allergic rhinitis, the anti-infective Claramid (roxithromycin), licensed from Roussel- Uclaf, and Eurobiol for pancreatic disorders.

Over the past thirty years, Jouveinal has spent heavily on R&D in proportion to the size of the company, historically spending over 20% of revenues -- but when measured in terms of total spending the company has got a lot of bang for its R&D franc. With a 1993 R&D budget of approximately $40 mil., Jouveinal employs a staff of 244 scientists in the areas of gastrointestinal, central nervous system and respiratory disorders and has at least seven compounds in clinical development.

Among the lead products in Jouveinal's pipeline is fedotozine, currently in Phase III trials in Europe for non-ulcer related dyspepsia and in Phase II for irritable bowel syndrome. Like trimebutine, fedotozine is an opioid agonist that binds to receptors in the small intestine that appear to regulate motility, according to studies in the medical literature. Also well along in clinical development is the 5HT reuptake inhibitor antidepressant cericlamine (formerly JO-1017), which is in Phase III trials. In earlier studies, cericlamine has demonstrated a favorable safety profile without any anticholinergic or cardiotoxic side effects.

Further back in the pipeline in the CNS area is JO-1784, a compound which is being studied for potential use in treating Alzheimer's. Other drugs in the early stages of clinical development include JO-4001, a "naturally occuring acidic lipase under study for pancreatic insufficiency," in Phase II, and JO- 1870, which is in late Phase I studies as a treatment for urinary incontinence. In the respiratory area, Jouveinal is studying Butixacort, a long-acting glucocorticoid that has completed Phase II trials for bronchial asthma, and JO-1954, which is described by the company as "a novel antihistamine which has shown activity against rhinitis."

Warner-Lambert President Lodewijk de Vink described the Jouveinal agreement as "an exceptional investment opportunity and a model for future growth" given the two companies' "complementary marketing and research programs."