PharmaNova, Inc. has exclusively licensed certain U.S. patent rights to Depomed, Inc. for the development and commercialization of extended release formulation of gabapentin as a non-hormonal alternative treatment for hot flashes and other vasomotor symptoms of menopause.
In exchange for such rights, Depomed agreed to pay PharmaNova an upfront licensing fee, milestone fees and royalties on product sales.
According to Rodney Brown, president of PharmaNova:
"We are delighted to partner our lead women's health project with Depomed. Depomed's excellent work to date with Gabapentin GR to treat neurological pain may allow us to leverage data already generated.
The market for hot flashes is sizeable and characterized by a significant unmet need because women and their doctors have increasingly shied away from traditional HRT (hormone replacement therapy).
A long-acting formulation of gabapentin may prove in clinical trials to be a safer, effective alternative to HRT in the treatment of hot flashes."
The development of gabapentin resulted from Dr. Thomas Guttuso's clinical research at the University of Rochester demonstrating that gabapentin is effective in treating hot flashes of menopause, and subsequent studies by Dr. Sireesha Reddy and co-workers demonstrating gabapentin to be as effective as estrogen in treating hot flashes.
Find more details from Depomed's press release.
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