Health & Fitness
Health and Fitness
Health and Fitness
Tue, October 16, 2012
Mon, October 15, 2012
Horizon Pharma Announces the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Has Issued a Notice of Allowance With Claims Covering RAYOS(R) (P
October 15, 2012 07:30 ET
Horizon Pharma Announces the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Has Issued a Notice of Allowance With Claims Covering RAYOS® (Prednisone) Delayed-Release Tablets
DEERFIELD, IL--(Marketwire - Oct 15, 2012) - Horizon Pharma, Inc. (
This Notice of Allowance concludes the substantive examination of the patent application and will result in the issuance of a U.S. patent after administrative processes are completed. The patent scheduled to issue from this application will expire in 2024 for the U.S. patent. After issuance, Horizon plans to list the U.S. patent in the FDA's Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations, or Orange Book.
"This patent allowance is a critical expansion of the patent estate for RAYOS," said Timothy P. Walbert, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Horizon. "We are focused on protecting the commercial potential of RAYOS to 2024 and we will begin the RAYOS commercial launch this quarter."
About RAYOS
RAYOS®, known as LODOTRA® in Europe, is a proprietary delayed-release formulation of low-dose prednisone which utilizes SkyePharma's proprietary Geoclock™ technology. The pharmacokinetic profile of RAYOS is different with an approximately four-hour lag time from that of immediate-release prednisone formulations. In clinical trials studying use of RAYOS in RA, patients were administered RAYOS at 10 p.m. with food. Given RAYOS delayed-release profile, this helps to achieve therapeutic prednisone blood levels at a time point when cytokine levels start rising during the middle of the night. While the pharmacokinetic profile of RAYOS differs in terms of lag time from immediate-release prednisone, its absorption, distribution and elimination processes are comparable.
On July 26, 2012 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved RAYOS® to treat a broad range of diseases including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (see full prescribing information at [ www.RAYOSrx.com ]).
Outside the United States, LODOTRA is approved for the treatment of moderate to severe active RA when accompanied by morning stiffness in nineteen countries. Horizon has granted commercialization rights for LODOTRA in Europe, Asia and Latin America to its distribution partner Mundipharma International Corporation Limited. Horizon has an exclusive license from SkyePharma for RAYOS.
Important Safety Information
RAYOS®(prednisone) delayed‐release tablets
Approved uses of RAYOS
RAYOS, a delayed‐release form of prednisone, prevents the release of substances in the body that cause inflammation. RAYOS is approved to treat a broad range of diseases including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). For a full list of RAYOS indications,please see full prescribing information at [ www.RAYOSrx.com ].
RAYOS is contraindicated in patients who have known hypersensitivity to prednisone or to any of the excipients. Rare instances of anaphylaxis have occurred in patients receiving corticosteroids.
Important information about RAYOS
Do not use RAYOS if you are allergic to prednisone.
Long‐term use of RAYOS can affect how your body responds to stress. Symptoms can include weight gain, severe fatigue, weak muscles and high blood sugar.
RAYOS can weaken your immune system, making it easier for you to get an infection or worsening an infection you already have or have recently had.
RAYOS can cause high blood pressure, salt and water retention and low blood potassium.
There is an increased risk of developing holes in the stomach or intestines if you have certain stomach and intestinal disorders.
Behavior and mood changes can occur, including intense excitement or happiness, sleeplessness, mood swings, personality changes or severe depression.
Long‐term use of RAYOS can cause decreases in bone density.
RAYOS can cause cataracts, eye infections and glaucoma.
Do not receive a "live" vaccine while taking RAYOS. The vaccine may not work as well during this time, and may not fully protect you from disease.
Taking RAYOS during the first trimester of pregnancy can harm an unborn baby.
Long‐term use of RAYOS can slow growth and development in children.
The most common side effects with RAYOS are water retention, high blood sugar, high blood pressure, unusual behavior and mood changes, increased appetite and weight gain.
Please see full prescribing information for RAYOS at [ www.RAYOSrx.com ].
About Horizon Pharma
Horizon Pharma, Inc. (
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the issuance of a patent based on the notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the ability to protect the commercial potential of RAYOS to 2024 and the planned timing of commercial launch of RAYOS. These forward-looking statements are based on management's expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release, and actual results may differ materially from those in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. These factors include risks regarding whether the administrative processes required for the issuance of a patent as indicated in the notice of allowance will be completed in a timely matter or at all, whether the patent, if issued as indicated in the notice of allowance, will provide sufficient protection and market exclusivity for RAYOS, whether any patent issued to Horizon may be challenged, invalidated, infringed or circumvented by third parties and other factors described in Horizon's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, including those factors discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in those filings. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and Horizon undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements, except as may be required by law.
