Pharmion appoints new distributor for Thalidomide Pharmion

Pharmion Corporation, of Boulder, Colorado, has appointed Swiss pharmaceutical company Lipomed as its exclusive distributor of Thalidomide Pharmion in Switzerland and Austria.

Lipomed will also act as Pharmion's distributor partner in those countries for Refludan and Vidaza.

Under the terms of the agreement, Lipomed have exclusive distribution rights for Thalidomide Pharmion 50mg in Austria and Switzerland and will stop selling its own formulation of thalidomide in Austria, Switzerland and all other European markets. Both parties have also agreed to terminate ongoing patent infringement litigation that Pharmion initiated against Lipomed last autumn.

Pharmion currently sells thalidomide on a compassionate use and named patient basis in Europe and certain other rest-of-world markets while seeking regulatory approval for this drug for the treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. The company holds exclusive marketing and distribution rights for thalidomide from Celgene in markets outside of North America, Japan and certain other Asian countries. Pharmion recently gained marketing approvals in Australia and New Zealand for the use of thalidomide to treat relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

Lipomed will use the Pharmion Risk Management Program (PRMP) to control the use and distribution of thalidomide, which requires prescribers, pharmacies and patients to register in order to prescribe or dispense thalidomide, and requires all patients to complete an informed consent process and to participate in a confidential surveillance registry. The PRMP is based on the STEPS programme, the first FDA-approved managed pharmaceutical delivery programme, developed by Celgene Corporation in co-operation with the US FDA.