The Grünenthal Group Enters into Exclusive Agreement with Horizon Pharma for Commercialization of DUEXIS® in Latin America

AACHEN, Germany and PANAMA CITY, June 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

The Grünenthal Group today announced that it has entered into an exclusive agreement with Horizon Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:  HZNP), a biopharmaceutical company, for the commercialization of DUEXIS^® in Latin America.

"We are excited about strengthening our existing product portfolio in Latin America with DUEXIS^®," said Jose Maria Mora, acting Executive Vice President, Grünenthal Latin America. "The agreement with Horizon Pharma is the first strategic step for the complete coverage of the Latin American market with our pain portfolio and shows that we are an attractive partner to other pharmaceutical companies. This is very important for the long-term success of the Grünenthal business in Latin America."

"As this is our first out-license of DUEXIS^® outside the U.S., we are especially pleased to partner in Latin America with Grünenthal, a worldwide leader in the promotion of pain products," said Timothy P. Walbert, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Horizon Pharma.  

The Grünenthal Group has a long tradition and strong position in many Latin American markets. Expanding the presence in Brazil and Mexico by targeted acquisitions of companies and/or product portfolios is a key priority for this strategic development. Calculated in Euros, Grünenthal increased revenues by 14 percent in Latin America in 2011. Based on local currencies, the revenue growth was even greater. Latin America contributed 16 percent of the revenues in 2011, but it is the company's strategic objective to raise the share considerably to up to approx. 40 percent of the commercial revenues in the coming years.

About Grünenthal

The Grünenthal Group is an independent, family-owned, international research-based pharmaceutical company headquartered in Aachen, Germany. Building on its unique position in pain, its objective is to become the most patient-centric company and thus to be a leader in therapy innovation. Grünenthal is one of the last five research-oriented pharmaceutical corporations with headquarters in Germany which sustainably invests in research and development. These investments amounted to about 25 percent of revenues in 2011. Grünenthal's research and development strategy concentrates on select fields of therapy and state-of-the-art technologies. We focus on the intensive search for new ways to treat pain better, more effectively and with fewer side-effects than before. Altogether, the Grünenthal Group has affiliates in 26 countries worldwide. Grünenthal products are sold in more than 155 countries and today approx. 4,200 employees are working for the Grünenthal Group worldwide. In 2011, Grünenthal achieved revenues of €947 mn.

About DUEXIS^®

DUEXIS^®, a proprietary single-tablet combination of the NSAID ibuprofen and the histamine H2-receptor antagonist famotidine, is indicated for the relief of signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis and to decrease the risk of developing upper gastrointestinal ulcers, which in the clinical trials was defined as a gastric and/or duodenal ulcer, in patients who are taking ibuprofen for those indications. The clinical trials primarily enrolled patients less than 65 years of age without a prior history of gastrointestinal ulcer. Controlled trials do not extend beyond 6 months.  For more information, please visit http://www.DUEXIS.com.

About Horizon Pharma

Horizon Pharma, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company that is developing and commercializing innovative medicines to target unmet therapeutic needs in arthritis, pain and inflammatory diseases. For more information, please visit http://www.horizonpharma.com.

Contact: Frank Schönrock, Vice President Corporate Communications
Tel.: +49-241-569-1568, Fax: +49-241-569-3539, [email protected]

Grünenthal GmbH, 52099 Aachen, Germany, http://www.grunenthal.com

SOURCE Grunenthal Group