

Paladin Labs Announces Canadian Approval for Oralair(TM)
March 21, 2012 08:00 ET
Paladin Labs Announces Canadian Approval for Oralair™
MONTREAL, CANADA--(Marketwire - March 21, 2012) - Paladin Labs Inc. (TSX:PLB) announced today that Health Canada has approved Oralair™. Oralair™ is a sublingual grass pollen immunotherapy tablet for the treatment of the symptoms of moderate to severe seasonal grass pollen allergic rhinitis with or without conjunctivitis.
"We are pleased and excited that Health Canada has granted regulatory approval for Oralair™", said Mark Beaudet, interim President and Chief Executive Officer of Paladin Labs Inc. "We anticipate launching Oralair™ in time for the 2013 allergy season and are confident that, when launched, Oralair™ will provide Canadian allergy sufferers with a safe, effective and convenient alternative for the treatment of seasonal grass allergies."
The prevalence of grass pollen allergy in Canada is not well established, however, if prevalence is assumed to be similar to European rates, approximately 20% to 25% of adult Canadians have respiratory allergies, and of these about 50% would be allergic to grass pollen1. The current standard of care for grass allergy immunotherapy is multiple injections of grass allergens performed in a doctor's office. Oralair™ is a sublingual tablet which can be taken in the comfort of one's own home and has an unmatched safety profile. Oralair™ efficacy has been demonstrated through five placebo controlled clinical trials involving more than 1,000 patients from Europe and North America.
"We are delighted that Oralair™ has received regulatory approval in Canada. This approval confirms the strength of our clinical data and is a good base to continue together with our partner Paladin Labs the success already achieved by the product in other markets. It also demonstrates Stallergenes' strategy to strengthen its international expansion" said Roberto Gradnik, Chief Executive Officer of Stallergenes SA.
Oralair™ has been marketed in Europe since 2008 and is now approved in 27 countries. Paladin obtained the Canadian development, promotion and distribution rights for Oralair™ (grass allergies), hdm tablet (dust mites allergies) and Stalair™ rBet v 1 tablet (birch pollen allergies) from Stallergenes SA (Euronext Paris CAC small) in January 2007.
About Oralair™
Oralair™ is a sublingual immunotherapy tablet consisting of five pollen extracts corresponding to the epidemiological characteristics of patient exposure: rye grass (Lolium perenne), meadow grass (Poa pratensis), timothy grass (Phleum pratense), cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata) and sweet vernal grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum).
Oralair™ Indication
Oralair™ is indicated for the treatment of the symptoms of moderate to severe seasonal grass pollen allergic rhinitis with or without conjunctivitis in patients 5 to 50 years of age, confirmed by clinically relevant symptoms, a positive cutaneous test and a positive titre of the specific IgE to Poaceae grass pollen, who have suffered from allergic rhinitis with or without conjunctivitis for at least two pollen seasons and have not adequately responded to, or tolerated, conventional pharmacotherapy.
Oralair™ Dosing Regimen
Oralair™ is administered once daily pre-seasonally (4 months prior pollen season) and co-seasonally (during pollen season). Although the grass pollen season varies geographically, typically patients will begin their therapy in January and continue until July.
A pharmacodynamic study has demonstrated that Oralair™ is effective from the first month of treatment. In addition, the sustained efficacy of Oralair™ following treatment in 3 consecutive allergy seasons continues to be studied as part of a long term follow up study involving patients initially enrolled in the product's pivotal trial.
Who Should Prescribe Oralair™?
Treatment with Oralair™ should only be prescribed and initiated by physicians with adequate training and experience in the treatment of respiratory allergic diseases.
About Paladin Labs
Paladin Labs Inc., headquartered in Montreal, Canada, is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on acquiring or in-licensing innovative pharmaceutical products. With this strategy, a focused national sales team and proven marketing expertise, Paladin has evolved into one of Canada's leading specialty pharmaceutical companies. For more information, please visit the Company's web site at [ www.paladinlabs.com ]
1 Bauchau V, Durham SR. Prevalence and rate of diagnosis of allergic rhinitis in Europe. Eur Respir J 2004;24:758-64
Forward-looking statements
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