FORT LEE, N.J., March 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alpharma Inc. (NYSE: ALO - News), a leading global specialty pharmaceutical company, announced it has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Tris Pharma, Inc. ("Tris"), a privately owned specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in the research and development of drug delivery technologies. Under the terms of the agreement, Alpharma will gain access to Tris' LiquiXR(TM) technology, a novel and proprietary drug delivery platform for sustained release products in liquid form. The company plans to use this technology to develop an oral liquid product complementary to the company's KADIAN® solid dose product line. This planned addition to the KADIAN® product line is targeted to address the significant unmet need for liquid dose sustained release opioids, especially in the long-term and institutional care markets.

In addition, Alpharma is collaborating with Tris to leverage its technology to further improve the attributes of KADIAN® product line. This development program will be complementary to Alpharma's abuse deterrent platform which utilizes the antagonist, naltrexone. Both companies will collaborate on the development of these pain management products, and upon approval, Tris will be responsible for manufacturing, and Alpharma will commercialize the products.

"We are extremely pleased to be partnering with Tris to expand our late stage development pipeline to provide innovative solutions in pain management for physicians and patients," commented Dean Mitchell, President and Chief Executive Officer of Alpharma, "When combined with our current Kadian® NT program, the products contemplated in this development agreement will offer additional treatment options for chronic moderate to severe pain."

Ketan Mehta, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tris Pharma noted, "We have been impressed with Alpharma's deep understanding of the treatment modalities associated with pain. Our team is looking forward to combining Tris' strong expertise in development with Alpharma's clinical, regulatory and marketing know-how."

Under the terms of the agreement, the company expects approximately $15 million in expenses related to milestone payments to Tris and other clinical development expenses tied primarily to key development and intellectual property events. Approximately half of these costs could be incurred in 2007. The agreement calls for royalty payments on net sales and certain additional payments to be made based on sales performance. If the products meet certain pre-determined clinical targets, regulatory submissions could be filed in 2008..

About Tris Pharma:

Tris Pharma is a privately owned, product-focused, specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in the research and development of innovative drug delivery technologies. Through its OralXR platform, Tris has pioneered the delivery of sustained release in the liquid, chewable/ODT and strip dosage forms where by patients do not have to swallow a pill. Tris' Nobuse platform provides abuse-deterrence for opioids and other abuse-prone drugs. The company has more than 30 Rx and OTC products in development with pharmaceutical partners. Tris' R&D and manufacturing facilities are located in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey. For more information visit http://www.trispharma.com

SOURCE Tris Pharma