Novartis grants Emselex rights to UK company

Novartis has selected Ardana, an Edinburgh-based specialist pharmaceutical company, to market Emselex in the UK.

Emselex is a treatment developed by Novartis for overactive bladder syndrome, approved by European regulators in 2004.

Ardana has now offered new shares, with the intention of raising 11 million pounds – 5.7 million pounds of which will go towards the development of its growth hormone secretagogue, with 4.2 million going towards the UK-wide launch of Emselex, expected to happen by the end of 2006.

Dr Maureen Lindsay, chief executive officer of Ardana, remarked: “We are delighted that Novartis has chosen Ardana to launch Emselex in the UK market which we think is a tremendous endorsement of our sales and marketing capabilities.”

She added that the drug had shown “favourable efficacy” while demonstrating a low risk of cardiovascular incidence, without impairing memory function in elderly patients.

The drug will be an “important” addition to Ardana’s portfolio and will offer healthcare professionals a new option for overactive bladder symptoms, Dr Lindsay concluded.

Ardana was created in 2000 to commercialise the research findings of the Medical Research Council’s human reproductive sciences unit in Edinburgh, which employs around 100 staff.

Currently, Ardana markets two products – Striant SR, a testosterone replacement therapy for male hypogonadism, and Invicorp, an injectable treatment for severe male erectile dysfunction.

In addition, the company has a number of gonadotropin-releasing hormone products in development.