“Eurand completed another strong quarter, highlighted by the launch of ZENPEP”, said Gearoid Faherty, chairman and chief executive officer. “In addition, we expanded our commercial organization to support ZENPEP and completed a secondary offering that increased our cash balance. The quarter capped off another outstanding year for Eurand that included two new drug approvals and a significant increase in revenues. As 2010 unfolds, we look forward to another successful year, led by the ongoing launch of ZENPEP and continuing growth from several key partnered products such as AMRIX®, LAMICTAL® ODT™ and ULTRASE®.”

The strong growth in 2009 can be attributed primarily to revenues from Pancrelipase and from partnered products, AMRIX, a once-daily skeletal muscle relaxant marketed by Cephalon, and ULTRASE, a PEP marketed by Axcan. Cephalon reported AMRIX sales of $30.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2009, a 17% increase from the fourth quarter of 2008, and $114.4 million for the full year in 2009, up 55% from 2008. Eurand also benefited from revenues from LAMICTAL ODT, launched by GlaxoSmithKline in mid-2009 as a treatment for bipolar disorder and epileptic seizures.

Other recent developments

In November 2009, Eurand launched lead proprietary product ZENPEP® (pancrelipase) Delayed-Release Capsules, a pancreatic enzyme product (PEP) for the treatment of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) due to cystic fibrosis (CF) or other conditions.

Eurand was granted patent for ZENPEP that will provide protection until at least 20 February 2028.

For more information on recent developments and financial results, please read the full press release here.