Sinclair licenses US rights for Decapinol to J&J unit

Godalming UK-based Sinclair Pharma, a specialty pharmaceutical company, says that it has licensed the exclusive US rights of one of its key products, Decapinol Rinse, a prescription product for the treatment of gingivitis, to OraPharma, a subsidiary of health care major Johnson & Johnson.

Under the terms of the deal, Sinclair will supply Decapinol Rinse to OraPharma, which will be responsible for the marketing and distribution of the product in the USA, and will have the exclusive rights to promote the product to dentists' offices for prescription sales. Sinclair will receive up-front and milestone payments, and a margin on product sales, which are expected to commence within the next 12 months.

Decapinol received marketing clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration in 2005 as a prescription product. It has also received approval in the European Union where the oral rinse presentation was recently launched in Italy and Spain by Sinclair's distributors.