King, Wyeth amend agreement to market, sell Altace to reduce risk of heart attack and stroke

By Lisa Kerner

Charlotte, N.C., July 6 - King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals entered into an amended and restated co-promotion agreement for King's product Altace (ramipril), an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor used alone or with other therapies to reduce the risk of stroke, heart attack or other cardiovascular caused.

Beginning Jan. 1, King will be responsible for Altace sales and marketing. The Wyeth sales force will continue to co-promote the product with King for the remainder of the year.

The maximum co-promotion fee King would pay Wyeth for 2006 is $215 million. For the years following 2006, King will pay Wyeth a restructured annual fee based on a percentage of Altace net sales, subject to annual payment limits.

Since the companies began their collaboration, Altace sales have increased to $554 million in 2005 from $122 million in 1999. King's sales force has grown from 200 to more than 1,000 representatives, officials said.

"We are extremely excited that our experienced commercial team will assume full marketing responsibility for Altace and have the opportunity to aggressively pursue and build on our marketing strategy, as we plan to invest incrementally in the promotion of Altace," King president and chief executive officer Brian A. Markison said in a company news release.

"Wyeth benefits from this current restructuring as we expect to continue to receive an attractive revenue stream from Altace and increase our flexibility to prepare for the launch of several new products," said Joseph M. Mahady, president, the Americas and global businesses, for Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.

King, based in Bristol, Tenn., is a vertically integrated branded pharmaceutical company.

Located in Madison, N.J., Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth, specializes in products for women's health care, cardiovascular disease, the central nervous system, inflammation, transplantation, hemophilia and oncology as well as vaccines and nutritional products.

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