Access Pharmaceuticals Provides Third Quarter Update on MuGard Commercial Activities

Company Schedules Investor Conference Call For Wednesday, December 7th at 11:00AM EST

DALLAS and NEW YORK, Nov. 15, 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 announced its third quarter 2011 investor conference call and the recent progress in its MuGard program.  MuGard is a mucoadhesive oral wound rinse and coating that has been shown to be effective in the management of oral mucositis, a debilitating side effect of many anticancer treatments.  The investor conference call is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, December 7, 2011 at 11:00 am EST.  Interested parties may participate by dialing 877-407-4019 (US) or 201-689-8337 (International) approximately five minutes before the start time.

"We continue to be pleased with MuGard progress and our ability to better service the demand created in the oncology community," said Frank Jacobucci, Vice President, Sales and Marketing.  He continued, "The increased payer acceptance of MuGard seen over the last few months, including October, is very encouraging and supports our belief that MuGard is becoming a preferred treatment option in the management of oral mucositis.  We look forward to updating investors of the continued growth of the MuGard program."

Anthony Mottola, Vice President Managed Care and Market Access stated, "We continue to see significant progress with MuGard reimbursement and increased momentum in advancing discussions with additional payers and major PBM's to ensure MuGard access to its plan memberships.  A keen focus on increased reimbursement and shipments will allow us to continue ramping MuGard revenue."

Third Quarter 2011 Highlights:

  • MuGard Prescriptions Continue to Grow:  MuGard prescriptions continued to increase through the third quarter and into the 4Q11.  Clinicians prescribing MuGard continue to provide feedback and anecdotal evidence of positive clinical experiences.  Over 700 clinicians have prescribed MuGard for their patients and over 75% of these doctors are recurring prescribers.
  • Payer Uptake:  Throughout the third quarter and into 4Q11, Access made significant progress in increasing reimbursement for MuGard.  MuGard continued receiving reimbursement from many networks of leading insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers including Group Health Incorporated (GHI), TRICARE, Harvard Pilgrim, Humana and ExpressScripts.  Reimbursement has more than doubled and now includes payers such as several state Anthem plans, various Aetna and Cigna plans, Assurant Health, Keystone, Premera and additional BlueCross Blue Shield (BCBS) and United Healthcare state plans.
  • MuGard PRSC and Increased Distribution: Since its launch last quarter, Access' MuGard Patient Reimbursement and Support Center (PRSC), also known as the MuGard HUB, has improved patient access to MuGard by enhancing product distribution and facilitating payment for MuGard by insurance carriers.  In addition to the MuGard HUB, in the third quarter, Access also brought on several specialty pharmacies including CSPN (Community Specialty Pharmacy Network) and CuraScript, the specialty division of Express Scripts, to further expand its specialty pharmacy and third party logistics networks. CSPN and CuraScript began providing MuGard to the patients within their expansive network.  CuraScript Specialty Distribution, its third party logistics division, warehouses MuGard and serves as its specialty distributor and wholesaler for specialty pharmacy providers.
  • Building Demand:  Access has spent significant resources on creating and building demand throughout the U.S.  Part of the effort included and extensive sampling to reach patients, caregivers, and the oncology community.  The formulary process in local hospitals and large institutions are well underway with many decisions to be made by the end of 2011.
  • Salesforce Management:  Access' contracted sales reps continue their broad-scale marketing push for MuGard.  In the quarter, Access identified under-resourced geographic areas and allocated additional coverage in these underserved areas and in new territories as it solidifies reimbursement activities and gains additional payer acceptance.  In addition, Access continues to have discussions with potential co-promotion partners.

Conference Call Details:

The investor conference call is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, December 7, 2011 at 11:00 am EST.  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 December 7th at 1:00 pm EST, through December 21, 2011 until 11:59 pm EST.  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 #383500.

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.

Contact: Company and Media

Contact: Investor Relations

Christine Berni

Donald C. Weinberger

Director of Investor Relations

Wolfe Axelrod Weinberger Assoc. LLC

Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

(212) 370-4500

(212) 786-6208




SOURCE Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc.