Canada: another key approval for almotriptan
On September 30th, 2003, Almirall has obtained the regulatory approval of its molecule almotriptan from the Health Authorities in Canada for the treatment of migraine. This approval is consequence of a very thorough regulatory process initiated by Almirall at the end of 2001, which makes almotriptan become the first Almirall's own R&D molecule approved by the Canadian agency.
The approval of almotriptan in Canada opens the door to the commercialization of this molecule in that country which market, of 63 million US dollars annually (World Review 2002), is ranked the forth in the worldwide triptans' category. The marketing rights of the product, that will be launched under the trademark Axert, have been granted Janssen-Ortho Canada, an affiliate sister of Ortho McNeil Pharmaceuticals, a Johnson & Johnson company, which is also marketing the product in the USA.
The different teams involved in its launch are working to make Axert available in that market by early January 2004. With this launch, almotriptan will achieve the objective of being available in 9 out of the 10 major markets worldwide for the treatment of migraine.
Migraine is a common illness, highly disabling, classified by the WHO as a major problem for public health. Despite that, and even with the effective treatments available, it continues to be a not well recognized illness, under-diagnosed and which, in many cases, does not receive the correct pharmacological treatment.
Almotriptan's profile, with the best ratio efficacy / tolerability within its class, has been recognized by the experts as a first option for the treatment of migraine. The launch of Axert in Canada means an important contribution to their therapeutic arsenal that will help to improve the quality of live of migraineurs in that country.
Almirall
The main aim of Almirall, the first Spanish multinational pharmaceutical, is to provide society with innovative drugs to combat discomfort and disease, thus helpingto improve health and quality of life. To this end, it constantly devotes the maximum human and financial resources to researching new products.
The company's main research fields are those areas related to the treatment of asthma, bronchitis, allergies, atopic dermatitis, arthritis and gastrointestinal disorders.
The company plans to invest in R&D around 490 million euros in the next five years, and the total sales forecasts for 2003 are projected to reach 946.7 million euros. Its estimated staff for 2003 is of 3,256 people, of whom 532 are related to R&D activities.
The company also has five research centres and six manufacturing plants, as well as branch offices in the main cities of Spain and subsidiaries in Europe and Latin America.
Its annual production forecast for this year is over 94 million units, and products resulting from its own R&D are marketed in over 80 countries around the world.