Santarus searching for additional product, working to drive Zegerid sales

By Jennifer Lanning Drey

Portland, Ore., Nov. 15 - Santarus, Inc. is looking for an additional product while at the same time focusing on driving Zegerid sales, chief executive officer Gerald T. Proehl said at the Biocom San Diego Investor Conference on Wednesday.

"We think it's important that we get a second product, either a co-promotion product or we acquire a second product to put in the sales reps' bags to make them more efficient," Proehl said.

The company is currently evaluating development-stage compounds, he said.

Proehl also said Wednesday that upcoming milestones expected by the company include the receipt of a $15 million payment from Schering-Plough, Corp., which in October purchased the rights to commercialize Zegerid (omeprazole) products for the over-the-counter acid reflux market in the United States and Canada. Santarus could earn an additional $65 million in milestone payments through the deal.

"We think this is very substantial for us," Proehl said.

Santarus will continue to focus on prescription sales of Zegerid capsules and expects the drug to demonstrate month-over-month and quarter-over-quarter growth in the future, Proehl said.

"Our future milestones really focus on driving Zegerid sales," he said.

Santarus reported approximately $58 million in cash at the end of the third quarter, which does not include the expected milestone payment from Schering-Plough.

San Diego-based Santarus is a specialty pharmaceutical focused on therapies for gastrointestinal diseases and disorders.

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