WEST CHESTER, Pa., July 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Cephalon, Inc. (Nasdaq: CEPH)
announced today that it has renewed through April 1999 its agreement with
Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) to copromote Medtronic's Intrathecal Baclofen
Therapy (ITB(TM)) to neurologists and physiatrists in the United States for
the treatment of intractable spasticity.
"We are pleased to have contributed in very meaningful ways to the successful
expansion of ITB Therapy and we are delighted with Medtronic's continued
confidence in our marketing and sales capabilities," said Robert Roche,
Cephalon's vice president sales and marketing. "We look forward to continuing
the ITB Therapy effort with Medtronic."
Spasticity is a chronic, often severe, muscle stiffness that affects
approximately 750,000 Americans with multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy,
traumatic brain injury, stroke, and spinal cord injury and disease.
Intrathecal baclofen is delivered by the Medtronic SynchroMed(R) Infusion
System directly to the fluid surrounding the spinal cord. ITB was cleared by
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in September 1992 for spasticity of
spinal origin, and in June 1996 for spasticity of cerebral origin. ITB
Therapy has been shown to be effective in patients with severe spasticity due
to multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, brain injury or
stroke. The most common adverse events include hypotonia, somnolence,
nausea/vomiting, headache and dizziness, which are usually transient and
manageable by adjusting the dose.
Patients with spasticity are often treated by neurologists and physiatrists
who specialize in the treatment of neuromuscular disorders. Cephalon has a
U.S. based specialty sales force promoting products to neurologists and
certain other specialists. Since May 1997, Cephalon has been promoting
Intrathecal Baclofen Therapy in cooperation with Medtronic representatives and
has been compensated based upon sales activity and performance.
Cephalon, Inc., headquartered in West Chester, PA, is an international
biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and markets products to
treat neurological disorders.
This news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks
and uncertainties. A full discussion of Cephalon's operations and financial
condition, including factors that may affect the company's business and future
prospects, is contained in documents the company files with the SEC, such as
form 10-Q and 10-K reports. These documents identify important factors that
could cause the company's actual performance to differ from current
expectations.
NOTE: Cephalon's press releases are posted on the Internet at the company's
Web site at http://www.cephalon.com. They are also available by fax 24 hours
a day at no charge by calling PR Newswire's Company News On-Call at
800-758-5804, extension 134563.
SOURCE Cephalon, Inc.
CO: Cephalon, Inc.; Medtronic, Inc.
ST: Pennsylvania
IN: MTC
SU: JVN
07/06/98 08:32 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com