Specialty pharmaceutical company Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (SOMX) Wednesday said it has entered into a co-promotion agreement with Procter & Gamble (PG) for Silenor, or doxepin, a newly-approved treatment for insomnia characterized by difficulty with sleep maintenance.
The term of the agreement runs through December 31, 2012, renewable thereafter, and Somaxon will pay Procter & Gamble a reduced royalty based on U.S. net sales of Silenor for one year after the expiration of the agreement or its earlier termination under certain circumstances.
As per the deal, Somaxon and Procter & Gamble will co-promote Silenor, an oral tablet formulation of doxepin that is patent protected for use in insomnia, with a combined 215 sales representatives in the U.S. market. Procter & Gamble's professional health care sales force will promote Silenor to targeted primary care and other high-prescribing physicians.
Meanwhile, Somaxon's focus will be on specialists and other top-decile physicians who treat insomnia. Procter & Gamble will also promote Silenor to targeted pharmacies and will provide supplemental managed care support services for Silenor.
Somaxon has also granted Procter & Gamble a right of first negotiation relating to rights to develop and market Silenor as an over-the-counter medication in the U.S.
Richard Pascoe, Somaxon's President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "With the combined effort of both sales forces, we will target 35,000 of the highest prescribers of insomnia products as well as 25,000 pharmacies, which we believe will allow us to be highly competitive in the insomnia market."
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