DALLAS, Oct. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ACCESS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. announced today that it had signed an agreement with iMedicor for the North American commercial launch of MuGard, its FDA approved mucoadhesive oral rinse for the management of oral mucositis and stomatitis caused by radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. Using iMedicor’s highly targeted Alerts System application, initial introduction of MuGard to the 216,000 selected physicians in the US is expected to begin by the end of the year. MuGard is being commercially launched worldwide, with initial launches in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Norway and Greece having been previously announced. Access expects additional commercial launches in Europe, and in the Far East through two partners to start shortly.
“We look forward to working with Access Pharma to help them introduce MuGard in a cost effective, non-intrusive manner, a potential blockbuster product which could significantly improve the quality of life for patients undergoing certain cancer treatments,” said Fred Zolla, CEO of Vemics iMedicor. “Using our Alert System, iMedicor’s ability to deliver essential information from a trusted source to specific physician audiences will significantly increase our client’s marketing ROI.”
MuGard is a novel, ready-to-use mucoadhesive oral wound rinse for the management of oral mucositis, a debilitating side effect of many anticancer treatments. Up to 80% of all patients receiving radiotherapy and approximately 40% of all chemotherapy patients develop oral mucositis, and almost all patients receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancer and those undergoing stem cell transplantation develop mucositis. Updated clinical practice guidelines for the prevention and treatment of mucositis recommend the use of a preventive oral care regimen as part of routine supportive care along with a therapeutic oral care regimen if mucositis develops. The market for the treatment of oral mucositis, expanding to include all patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy, is estimated to be in excess of $5 billion world-wide.
“We are excited about iMedicor’s ability to introduce MuGard more rapidly and to a broad physician audience than we would expect through traditional distribution channels,” said Access’ CEO Jeffrey Davis. “We believe through this new marketing partnership with iMedicor, Access will be able to reach a broad spectrum of oncologists, radiation oncologists and other key clinicians in a very cost-effective manner, to utilize the medical education aspects of the system to educate about oral mucositis and MuGard, and to accelerate commercial uptake in the US market.”
About iMedicor:
iMedicor is the only HIPAA-compliant solution for interoperable health information transfer that is offered to physicians, healthcare providers and patients at no cost. The iMedicor portal enables disparate EMR (electronic medical record) systems to communicate, collaborate and exchange records in real time; pharmaceutical companies to deliver customized educational marketing programs to more than 730,000 healthcare providers nationwide in a highly targeted, cost-effective and non-intrusive manner. More information on iMedicor is available at www.imedicor.com.
About Access:
Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an emerging biopharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes propriety products for the treatment and supportive care of cancer patients. Access’ products include ProLindac(TM), currently in Phase 2 clinical testing of patients with ovarian cancer, and MuGard(TM) for the management of patients with mucositis. The company also has other advanced drug delivery technologies including Cobalamin(TM)-mediated targeted delivery and oral drug delivery, its proprietary nanopolymer delivery technology based on the natural vitamin B12 uptake mechanism; Angiolix(R), a humanized monoclonal antibody which acts as an anti-angiogenesis factor and is targeted to breast cancer; and Thiarabine, a new generation nucleoside analog which has demonstrated both pre-clinical and clinical activity in certain cancers. For additional information on Access Pharmaceuticals, please visit our website at www.accesspharma.com.
This press release contains certain statements that are forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27a of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements include those relating to: clinical trial plans and timelines and clinical results for ProLindac and product candidates acquired in the MacroChem transaction, our ability to execute licensing agreements in the future, Access’ plans to continue and initiate clinical trials, the value of its products in the market (including MuGard and the size of the overall market for mucositis products), its ability to achieve clinical and commercial success and its ability to successfully develop marketed products. These statements are subject to numerous risks, including but not limited Access’ need to obtain additional financing in order to continue the clinical trial and operations and to the risks detailed in Access’ Annual Reports on Form 10-K and other reports filed by Access with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
CONTACT: Stephen B. Thompson, Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of
Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc., +1-214-905-5100; or Investor Relations,
Donald C. Weinberger or Diana Bittner (media) of Wolfe Axelrod Weinberger
Assoc. LLC, +1-212-370-4500, for Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Web site: http://www.accesspharma.com/
http://www.imedicor.com/
