Access Pharmaceuticals Retains eMAX Health to Expand MuGard Distribution Network and Supplement Payer Outreach Programs

DALLAS and NEW YORK, May 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCBB: ACCP), a biopharmaceutical company leveraging its proprietary drug-delivery platforms to develop treatments in areas of oncology, diabetes, and RNAi, has signed an agreement with eMAX Health Systems to expand the distribution network and to further support ongoing aggressive third party payer outreach programs for MuGard and advocate for reimbursement among commercial insurance carriers in the United States.  Maintaining a network of over 350 national, regional and local specialty pharmacies, eMAX will provide support to Access' internal ongoing programs aimed at maximizing patient access to MuGard through centralized patient intake and support.  eMAX Health will utilize its expertise in specialty markets and network relationships to implement additional distribution channels to meet the growing demand of MuGard in various market segments.  MuGard is a novel; ready-to-use mucoadhesive oral wound rinse and coating that has been shown to be very effective in the management of oral mucositis, a debilitating side effect of many anticancer treatments.

"We are excited to be working with Access on its MuGard distribution and payer outreach programs," said Julian Casciano, CEO of eMAX Health Systems.  He continued, "The positive clinical feedback coupled with its favorable pharmacoeconomic value proposition makes MuGard a very important product to the oncology community. We look forward to providing additional support to ensure favorable MuGard formulary position among U.S. payers, hospitals, and large provider institutions while strengthening its infrastructure, expanding its distribution channels and economic assistance capabilities, and increasing their overall payer outreach."

"Adding eMAX Health to our reimbursement infrastructure is a key step in broadening our reach within the third party payer community and expanding our distribution capabilities," stated Anthony Mottola, Vice President, Managed Care and Market Access, Access Pharmaceuticals.  He continued, "As we continue executing on our multifaceted reimbursement strategy, we look to eMAX Health to further support programs designed to assess and manage the synergies of physicians, nurses, patient advocacy groups and health benefit payers, while conveying the clinical and economic value MuGard offers."

Investor Conference Call Details:

An investor conference call will be held this morning, Tuesday, May 24, 2011 at 11:00 am EDT.  Interested parties may participate by dialing 877-407-4019 (US) or 201-689-8337 (International) approximately five to ten minutes before the call start time.  A replay of the call will be available starting on May 24, 2011 at 1:00 pm EDT, through June 07, 2011 until 11:59 pm EDT.  Interested parties may access the replay by dialing 877-660-6853 (US) or 201-612-7415 (International) and entering account number 383 and conference ID number 372986.

About eMax Health Systems:

eMAX Health Systems, LLC provides independent research and innovative pharmaceutical distribution support across various segments of the global healthcare system.  The company has two distinct divisions, eMAX Central-Access Rx and eMAX Healthcare Research.  eMAX Central-Access Rx:  through a nationwide network of over 55,000 retail and specialty pharmacies we provide improved patient access to medicine through point-of-service economic assistance programs, and an innovative specialty distribution system for office-based treatments.  eMAX Healthcare Research:  through an independent global analytics research team, EMAX conducts comparative effectiveness research to assess the value of pharmaceutical products.  For more information, please visit, www.emaxhealth.net.

About MuGard:

MuGard is a novel; ready-to-use mucoadhesive oral wound rinse and coating for the management of oral mucositis, a debilitating side effect of many anticancer treatments. Up to 40% of all patients receiving chemotherapy and radiotherapy develop moderate to severe 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 is estimated to be in excess of $1 billion world-wide.  For more information, please visit www.MuGard.com.

About Access:

Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an emerging biopharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes proprietary products for the treatment and supportive care of cancer patients. Access' products include MuGard™ (www.MuGard.com), which has received FDA marketing clearance for the management of patients with mucositis, ProLindac™, a second generation DACH Platinum in Phase 2 clinical testing of patients with ovarian cancer, and Thiarabine™, a novel nucleoside analog that has demonstrated both pre-clinical and clinical activity in certain cancers; currently in a Phase 1/2a trial in hematological malignancies at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.  

The company also has other advanced drug delivery technologies including CobaCyte™-mediated targeted delivery and CobOral-oral drug delivery, its proprietary nanopolymer delivery technology based on the natural vitamin B12 uptake mechanism.  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: our cash burn rate, clinical trial plans and timelines and clinical results for ProLindac, MuGard, Thiarabine and Cobalamin and other product candidates, our ability to achieve clinical and commercial success and our ability to successfully develop marketed products. These statements are subject to numerous risks, including but not limited to 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.