Sandoz acquires US distribution rights to two key hospital injectable medicines, reinforcing strategic focus on key growth segment

PRINCETON, N.J., March 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sandoz today announced that it has acquired the distribution rights in the United States for daptomycin 500mg injection and fosaprepitant 150mg for injection from BE Pharmaceuticals AG, to reinforce the company's strategy to grow its injectables portfolio and overall offerings in the hospital setting.

Daptomycin is a naturally occurring lipopeptide antibiotic used in the treatment of infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria and is the generic version of Cubicin®*. Fosaprepitant is an antiemetic drug used in the prevention of nausea and vomiting associated with certain chemotherapies, administered as IV infusion, and is the generic prodrug of Emend®* for injection.

"These medicines strategically support our institutional portfolio, add value for our sales force, and increase our overall offerings in the hospital setting," said Carol Lynch, President, Sandoz Inc. "Our ambition is to make Sandoz the world's leading and most valued generics company. To realize that ambition in the US market, we are focusing on specific segments such as hospitals and oncology clinics with generic and branded generic injectables, where we can do the most to pioneer access for patients." 

Under the distribution and supply agreements, Sandoz acquires the distribution rights in the United States for daptomycin 500mg injection and fosaprepitant 150mg for injection from BE Pharmaceuticals AG, which retains responsibility for manufacturing the products and managing the regulatory approval process.

Important Safety Information
Please see full Prescribing Information for daptomycin here: 
https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/fda/fdaDrugXsl.cfm?setid=4cdf4099-db58-43b8-9fbc-afd997ccfa4b&type=display

Please see full Prescribing Information for fosaprepitant for injection here: 
https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/fda/fdaDrugXsl.cfm?setid=21b08b87-70e3-4233-9531-dd6d84eab5d0&type=display

Disclaimer
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as "potential," "can," "will," "plan," "may," "could," "would," "expect," "anticipate," "seek," "look forward," "believe," "committed," "investigational," "pipeline," "launch," or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential marketing approvals, new indications or labeling for the daptomycin and fosaprepitant products or regarding the transaction described in this press release, or regarding potential future revenues from such products. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that the expected benefits and synergies from the transaction will be achieved in the expected timeframe, or at all. Neither can there be any guarantee that the daptomycin or fosaprepitant products will be commercially successful in the future. In particular, our expectations regarding the transaction and such products could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; competition in general, including potential approval of additional generic versions of such products; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures and requirements for increased pricing transparency; litigation outcomes, including intellectual property disputes or other legal efforts to prevent or limit Sandoz from selling its products; general political and economic conditions, including the effects of and efforts to mitigate pandemic diseases such as COVID-19; safety, quality, data integrity or manufacturing issues; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches, or disruptions of our information technology systems, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Sandoz
Sandoz, a Novartis division, is a global leader in generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars. Our purpose is to pioneer access for patients by developing and commercializing novel, affordable approaches that address unmet medical needs. Our ambition is to be the world's leading and most valued generics company. Our broad portfolio of high-quality medicines, covering all major therapeutic areas, accounted for 2019 sales of USD 9.7 billion. Sandoz is headquartered in Holzkirchen, in Germany's Greater Munich area.

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*Cubicin® and Emend® are registered trademarks of Merck.

SOURCE Sandoz