Recordati licenses Kentera for Europe from Watson Pharmaceuticals

Recordati has announced that it has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with a subsidiary of US pharmaceutical firm Watson Pharmaceuticals for the sale and marketing of Kentera in 29 European countries.

The drug is a bi-weekly oxybutynin transdermal patch that is indicated for the symptomatic treatment of increase urinary frequency and urgency and urge incontinence that occurs in patients.

Approved by the European Medicines Association in 2004, the compound has sales of over seven million euros in a number of countries.

The firm claims that the industrial world is seeing an increased incidence of overactive bladder disorders and other micturition conditions, resulting in a huge potential for growth in this market.

Giovanni Recordati, chairman and chief executive officer of the company, said: “The acquisition of Kentera, an original system for the administration of a well-known drug improving its tolerability profile, reinforces Recordati’s focus in the urology area.”

He added that the firm is currently developing silodosin in this field, a compound indicated for the treatment of benign prostate hypertrophy.

In February 2007, Recordati announced revenues of 576.2 million euros (384.5 million pounds) for the 2006 financial year, a figure not significantly different from that recorded in 2005.