SOLVAY JOINS ABBOTT/ASTRAZENECA DEAL TO DEVELOP FENOFIBRATE IN THE U.S.

Pharmaceutical groups AstraZeneca and Abbott announced that they will jointly develop and commercialize in the United States a fixed-dose combination product containing two lipid-regulating agents. This new combination product will be promoted in the U.S. by both companies, with a target 2009 for regulatory submission. The new product will combine Crestor (AstraZeneca's rosuvastatin) with either TriCor (Solvay's fenofibrate, licensed to Abbott for the U.S.) or a next-generation fenofibrate developed by Abbott and Solvay as a new lipid-regulating agent.

In addition to this new fixed-dose combination in the U.S., Solvay has several other products in development. The next one out of this string of projects is expected to be Synordia (previously known as Dualthys), a fixed-dose combination of an oral antidiabetic (metformin) and fenofibrate for Type II diabetic patients, due to be submitted for European Union registration this summer.