Holding website 
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands. 01 October 2020, 12:00 BST / 13:00 CET. Norgine B.V. (“Norgine”), today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, SpePharm A.G., has acquired SETOFILM® in Europe, Australia and New Zealand from APR Applied Pharma Research s.a. (“APR”). Previously Norgine marketed SETOFILM® in selected European markets under a license agreement with APR.
Peter Stein, Chief Executive Officer of Norgine said, “We are delighted with this new acquisition. SETOFILM® already benefits patients in the UK, France, Italy and Spain by offering an alternative form of ondansetron. By acquiring SETOFILM® across a broader territory, Norgine will be able to help more patients.”
“Strengthening and expanding our collaboration with Norgine on SETOFILM® represents an important step forward in the execution of our corporate strategy” said Paolo Galfetti, Chief Executive Officer of APR, “to offer improved treatment options engineered with patented drug delivery technologies able to make a meaningful difference in quality of life of patients and care givers when compared to conventional products. We will continue working to expand our SETOFILM® franchise through selected commercial partners in all available territories.”
SETOFILM® is indicated for the prevention and treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in adults and children aged 6 months or older, for radiotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (RINV) in adults and for post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV) in adults and children aged 4 years or older. [1]
SETOFILM® is available in 4mg and 8mg doses. Once placed in the mouth, it dissolves in a few seconds and can be swallowed without the need of water. [1]
About Norgine
Norgine is a leading European specialist pharmaceutical company that has been bringing transformative medicines to patients for over a century. Our commitment to transforming people’s lives drives everything we do and our European experience, fully integrated infrastructure and exceptional partnership approach enables us to quickly apply creative solutions to bring life-changing medicines to patients that they may not otherwise be able to access. Norgine is proud to have helped 22 million patients around the world in 2019 and generated more than €419 million in net product sales, a growth of 6% over 2018.
Norgine has a direct presence in 12 European countries, as well as Australia and New Zealand. We also have a strong global network of partnerships in non-Norgine markets. We are a flexible and fully integrated pharmaceutical business, with manufacturing (Hengoed, Wales and Dreux, France), third party supply networks and significant product development capabilities, in addition to our sales and marketing infrastructure. This enables us to acquire, develop and commercialise specialist and innovative products that make a real difference to the lives of patients around the world.
In 2012, Norgine established Norgine Ventures, a complementary business which supports innovative healthcare companies through the provision of debt-like financing in Europe and the US. For more information, please visit www.norgineventures.com
About APR Applied Pharma Research s.a.
APR is an independent pharma company headquartered in Switzerland with subsidiaries in Italy and Germany focused, since more than 25 years, in the development and commercialisation of products intended to improve the quality of life of patients and families affected with rare or debilitating diseases.
APR leverages many years of experience in developing patented drug delivery technologies, which are then applied to develop innovative therapeutic solutions.
APR’s portfolio includes products for the treatment of rare or niche diseases which are commercialized in about 50 countries worldwide either directly or through licensing and distribution agreements with selected partners. APR believes that a tireless effort in the research represents the fundamental pillar of the future therapeutic solutions and, for this reason, the pipeline includes products at different stage of development concentrated in 3 selected therapeutic areas: inherited metabolic recessive diseases, cancer supportive care and skin rare diseases.
About SETOFILM® Ondansetron Orodispersible Film
SETOFILM® is the first prescription-only medicine developed as an orodispersible film (ODF) formulation to be registered in Europe. The product is available in 4mg and 8mg doses. Once placed on the tongue, it dissolves in a few seconds and is swallowed with saliva without the need for water. [2]
The innovative ODF form may reduce the patient pill burden and enable patients to take their medication virtually anywhere.[1] [2]
[1] SETOFILM® Summary of Product Characteristics. Available at https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/9595/smpc and https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/9571/smpc Accessed August 2020
[2] Reiner V, Giarratana N, Monti NC, et al. Rapidfilm®: An innovative pharmaceutical form designed to improve patient compliance. Int J Pharmaceutics 2010;393;55-60.