Medicure Sales And Marketing Effort Underway Following Aggrastat Acquisition
This article was originally published in The Pink Sheet Daily
Executive Summary
Merck separately acquires the right of first refusal for a combination of Aggrastat and Medicure’s investigational cardio-protective compound, the firm says.
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Medicure plans to launch a sustained sales and marketing effort behind the cardiovascular treatment Aggrastat (tirofiban hydrochloride) after it acquires the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor from MGI Pharma. The Canadian company announced plans to acquire the treatment for acute coronary syndrome, including angina and non-Q-wave myocardial infarction, from MGI Pharma Aug. 9 for $19 mil. As part of the deal, Medicure will also pay royalties to Merck based on U.S. net sales. Development of a sales force detailing Aggrastat supported by a sustained marketing effort will revive flagging sales of the brand, CEO Albert Freisen said during a same-day call announcing the deal. Aggrastat holds only a 2% U.S. market share in the $450 mil.-a-year therapeutic class. The other two glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors on the market are Schering-Plough's Integrilin (eptifibatide) and Lilly's ReoPro (abciximab). "There has been no sustained sales or marketing effort behind Aggrastat since 2002, and as such, the product sales have eroded over this period," the exec stated. Sales of Aggrastat in 2005 were $10.9 mil. "Aggrastat's growth opportunity is evidenced by the fact that Merck maintains sales and marketing rights to Aggrastat outside the U.S., and it has grown to be the leading IIb/IIIa inhibitor in Europe with 2005 sales of $88 mil.," Freisen said. Aggrastat was developed by Merck and launched in the U.S. in 1998. Merck sold the U.S. rights to the brand in 2003 to Guilford Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by MGI Pharma in 2005. At the time, MGI Pharma pledged to continue an effort by Guilford to sell Aggrastat (1 (Also see "MGI Purchase Of Guilford Will Create Two-Product Acute Care Sales Force" - Pink Sheet, 21 Jul, 2005.)). The compound is a strategic fit with Medicure's pipeline portfolio, Freisden said, because it compliments the firm's lead candidate MC-1, a cardio-protective compound scheduled to enter Phase III later this year as a treatment to reduce ischemic reperfusion injury in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Medicure said it sees a market opportunity to combine MC-1 and Aggrastat for cardiovascular applications. On that front, Medicure simultaneously announced that Merck acquired the non-North American right of first refusal on future product opportunities combining MC-1 with Aggrastat. "Merck's interest demonstrates the broad potential for applications for MC-1 and further demonstrates why the acquisition of Aggrastat is such a great strategic fit for Medicure," Freisen said. The partnership does not restrict Medicure's ability to partner MC-1 or any other MC-1 combination product, he added. Medicure has put in place a sales and marketing leadership team and is currently recruiting sales representatives, who will be deployed in October, VP-Market and Business Development Moray Merchant said. "Our sales and marketing effort will emphasize Aggrastat's strong clinical evidence supporting its upstream use in ACS patients," he said. In addition, Aggrastat is supported by strong data regarding its use in patients with type 2 diabetes and has shown cost and dosing benefits, he added. "All of these advantages for Aggrastat are not new," Merchant said. "It is very clear...these key messages have not been conveyed effectively and consistently to our customers in the U.S." -Jessica Merrill |