Solvay PHARMACEUTICALS (BELGIUM) announced today the signing of a licensing agreement with PRONOVA BIOCARE
(NORWAY) for the highly concentrated omega-3
polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) product OMACOR®. OMACOR® is registered
for adjuvant treatment in secondary prevention after
myocardial infarction, in addition to reference treatments (including
statins,
antiplatelet drugs, betablockers, ACE inhibitors), as well as for primary treatment of the raised fat levels in the blood known as
hypertriglyceridaemia.
OMACOR® is one of the few products indicated for the secondary prevention of MI, and it can save lives. There are convincing results
from a largeoutcomes-study involving more than 11000 people, where OMACOR® has been demonstrated to lower the death rates.
OMACOR® use after a first heart attack resulted in a 20 % reduction in total mortality, a 30 % reduction in cardiovascular deaths and a
45 % reduction in sudden deaths. There were no reports of serious adverse event related to the treatment, and only very few and only
minor unwanted effects.
OMACOR® is registered and licensed to SOLVAY PHARMACEUTICALS for the
United Kingdom,
Germany,
Ireland,
Greece,
Austria,
Belgium,
Switzerland, the
Netherlands and Luxembourg. SOLVAY PHARMACEUTICALS will sell OMACOR® in soft
gelatine capsules as a prescription-only product.
Dr. Joachim Wegener, head of the
cardiology Global Product Strategy department at SOLVAY PHARMACEUTICALS said,
"OMACOR® is an attractive addition to our cardiology product portfolio and fits perfectly with our global marketing approach. In the
countries mentioned our activities are currently focused around the modern anti-hypertensives, TEVETEN® (eprosartan) and
PHYSIOTENS® (moxonidine). Treating raised blood
pressure is known to lower the incidence of cardiovascular mortality and
morbidity and now OMACOR® treatment shares these effects while working in quite different ways. Cardiovascular mortality and
morbidity are major causes of health concern, and increase as populations age".