Oral Rosacea Treatment May Be Available Soon

CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CGPI) announced today that a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for Oracea(TM), has been filed with the United Kingdom's Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The UK will act as reference member state in this decentralized procedure. The MAA for Oracea was submitted to the MHRA on February 24, 2006. A New Drug Application for Oracea was filed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in August 2005 and has been given a PDUFA date of May 31, 2006. If approved, Oracea will be the first orally administered, systemically delivered drug developed to treat rosacea.
The MAA was based primarily upon the safety and efficacy results of two Phase 3, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trials for Oracea(R). These studies enrolled a total of 537 patients in 28 centers across the U.S. In the two studies, patients receiving Oracea experienced a 61% and 46% mean reduction in inflammatory lesions compared to 29% and 20%, respectively, in patients receiving placebo. The differences were clinically and statistically highly significant (p = less than 0.001 in each study). Side effects of the drug were similar to placebo.
"This is an important step towards maximizing the worldwide opportunity for Oracea," said Colin Stewart, president and chief executive officer of CollaGenex. "If approved by the MHRA, we intend to seek registration for Oracea in other countries of the European Union."
Approximately 25 million adults in the EU suffer from rosacea. Rosacea affects primarily the face and is characterized by the appearance of inflammatory lesions (papules, pustules and nodules), erythema (skin redness) and telangiectasia (spider veins). If allowed to progress to a moderate to severe condition, rosacea can cause itching, pain and thickening of the skin.
CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company currently focused on developing and marketing proprietary, innovative medical therapies to the dermatology market. CollaGenex's professional dermatology sales force markets Pandel(R), a prescription topical corticosteroid licensed from Altana, Inc., Alcortin(TM) (1% iodoquinol and 2% hydrocortisone), a prescription topical antifungal steroid combination, and Novacort(TM) (2% hydrocortisone acetate and 1% pramoxine HCl), a prescription topical steroid and anesthetic. Alcortin and Novacort are marketed by the Company under a Promotion and Cooperation agreement with Primus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. In addition, CollaGenex has filed an NDA for Oracea(TM), the first systemic compound for the treatment of rosacea, which is currently under evaluation by the FDA, and is conducting a 300-patient, Phase II dose-finding study to evaluate its second dermatology candidate, incyclinide, for the treatment of acne. CollaGenex also currently sells Periostat(R), which the Company developed as the first pharmaceutical to treat periodontal disease by inhibiting the enzymes that destroy periodontal support tissues and by enhancing bone protein synthesis, and Atridox(R), Atrisorb FreeFlow(R) and Atrisorb-D FreeFlow(R), which are products of QLT Inc., the successor to Atrix Laboratories, Inc., for the treatment of adult periodontitis.
Research has shown that certain tetracyclines can be chemically modified to retain non-antibiotic properties that may make them effective in treating diseases involving inflammation and/or destruction of the body's connective tissues. CollaGenex is evaluating various chemically modified tetracyclines (so called "IMPACS" compounds because they are Inhibitors of Multiple Proteases And CytokineS") to assess whether they are safe and effective in these applications. The Company has a pipeline of innovative product candidates with possible applications in dermatology and other disease states. In addition, CollaGenex has acquired the Restoraderm(R) technology, a unique, proprietary dermal drug delivery system, and plans to develop a range of topical dermatological products with enhanced pharmacologic and cosmetic properties.
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Statements in this press release, including statements regarding future revenues, gross profits, margins, operating expenses and any other statements about management's expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or prospects, may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. CollaGenex' actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those factors contained in CollaGenex' most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004 and the most recent Form 10-Q for the Quarter ended September 30, 2005 under the sections "Additional Factors That May Affect Future Results" and "Additional Risks That May Affect Results" as well as other documents that may be filed by CollaGenex from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding CollaGenex' expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future and can be identified by forward-looking words such as "anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "should", "will", and "would" or similar words. CollaGenex assumes no obligations to update the information included in this press release or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.