iMedicor to market Access Pharmaceuticals' MuGard in North America

Oct 6 2009

ACCESS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. (OTC Bulletin Board: ACCP) announced today that it had signed an agreement with iMedicor (OTC Bulletin Board: VMCI) for the North American commercial launch of MuGard, its FDA approved mucoadhesive oral rinse for the management of oral mucositis and stomatitis caused by radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. Using iMedicor's highly targeted Alerts System application, initial introduction of MuGard to the 216,000 selected physicians in the US is expected to begin by the end of the year. MuGard is being commercially launched worldwide, with initial launches in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Norway and Greece having been previously announced. Access expects additional commercial launches in Europe, and in the Far East through two partners to start shortly.

"We look forward to working with Access Pharma to help them introduce MuGard in a cost effective, non-intrusive manner, a potential blockbuster product which could significantly improve the quality of life for patients undergoing certain cancer treatments," said Fred Zolla, CEO of Vemics iMedicor. "Using our Alert System, iMedicor's ability to deliver essential information from a trusted source to specific physician audiences will significantly increase our client's marketing ROI."

MuGard is a novel, ready-to-use mucoadhesive oral wound rinse for the management of oral mucositis, a debilitating side effect of many anticancer treatments. Up to 80% of all patients receiving radiotherapy and approximately 40% of all chemotherapy patients develop oral mucositis, and almost all patients receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancer and those undergoing stem cell transplantation develop mucositis. Updated clinical practice guidelines for the prevention and treatment of mucositis recommend the use of a preventive oral care regimen as part of routine supportive care along with a therapeutic oral care regimen if mucositis develops. The market for the treatment of oral mucositis, expanding to include all patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy, is estimated to be in excess of $5 billion world-wide.

"We are excited about iMedicor's ability to introduce MuGard more rapidly and to a broad physician audience than we would expect through traditional distribution channels," said Access' CEO Jeffrey Davis. "We believe through this new marketing partnership with iMedicor, Access will be able to reach a broad spectrum of oncologists, radiation oncologists and other key clinicians in a very cost-effective manner, to utilize the medical education aspects of the system to educate about oral mucositis and MuGard, and to accelerate commercial uptake in the US market."

SOURCE Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc.