Gensia Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced Monday that it hassigned an agreement with The Upjohn Co. (NYSE:UPJ) and itsAustralian subsidiary, Delta West Pty. Ltd., to manufacture andmarket generic pharmaceuticals for oncology and painmanagement in the U.S.

Delta West is currently marketing these drugs, which includeetoposide, cisplatin, doxorubicin, carboplatin, fluoruricil andcytarabine, as injectable formulations packaged in plasticcontainers in Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia.

Gensia Laboratories Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of GensiaPharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:GNSA) of San Diego, will handleall FDA regulatory submissions to allow it to market anddistribute the Delta products in the U.S. Upjohn and Delta, onthe other hand, will manufacture the products and provide thedata necessary for the FDA submission. Gensia and Delta havealso agreed to develop additional oncology and relatedproducts.

The U.S. regulatory approval centers around the packaging(glass containers are currently in use). Delta and Upjohn will"provide data that show the drugs (formulated with thisinjectable technology) are the equivalent of other approvedproducts -- such as bioavailability and shelf-life," commentedGodfrey Grant, Upjohn's public relations manager.

David Hale, president and chief executive officer of Gensia,estimated the injectable oncolytic market at $1.3 billionannually. He said that the packaging of oncolytic products inplastic "... will allow for safer and more efficient handling ofthese drugs."

-- Jennifer Van Brunt Senior Editor

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