Cardiome Achieves $30 Million Milestone
VANCOUVER, Sept 02, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- NASDAQ: CRME TSX: COM
Cardiome Pharma Corp. (NASDAQ: CRME / TSX: COM) today announced that it has earned a US$30 million milestone payment from its collaboration with Merck (known as MSD outside the United States and Canada), through an affiliate. The milestone was triggered by the recently announced marketing approval for BRINAVESS(TM) (vernakalant (iv)) in the European Union, Iceland and Norway.
"European approval and the milestone payment further strengthen Cardiome's financial position, both in the near term and in the long term via royalties from product sales," said Doug Janzen, Chief Executive Officer and President of Cardiome. "The teams at Merck and Cardiome have done an exemplary job in gaining European regulatory approval for BRINAVESS, and Cardiome is now part of a select group of biotechnology companies who have successfully shepherded a molecule from discovery through to product approval."
Merck Cardiome Agreement
In April 2009, Cardiome and Merck announced a collaboration and license agreement for the development and commercialization of vernakalant. The agreement provides Merck, Sharp and Dohme Corp. (formerly known as Merck & Co., Inc.) with exclusive global rights to vernakalant oral formulation for the maintenance of normal heart rhythm in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), and provides another Merck affiliate, Merck Sharp & Dohme (Switzerland) GmbH, with exclusive rights outside of the United States, Canada and Mexico to vernakalant IV formulation for rapid conversion of recent onset AF to sinus rhythm in adults.
About Cardiome Pharma Corp.
Cardiome Pharma Corp. is a product-focused drug development company dedicated to the advancement and commercialization of novel treatments for disorders of the heart and circulatory system. Cardiome is traded on the NASDAQ Global Market (CRME) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (COM). For more information, please visit our web site at www.cardiome.com.