Athena Neurosciences Inc. announced Tuesday that it hassigned a 10-year supply agreement with SandozPharmaceuticals Corp. for the purchase of bromocriptinemesylate, a medication used for treating Parkinson's disease.

Creighton Products Corp., Sandoz's wholly owned subsidiary,will manufacture bromocriptine for Athena (NASDAQ:ATHN),which will market the drug directly to neurologists and theirpatients through Athena Home Pharmacy, its mail-orderbusiness. Sandoz of East Hanover, N.J., will continue to sell thedrug as the prescribed medication, Parlodel.

Although Sandoz's patent on bromocriptine mesylate expiredlast year, "there are no generics approved (as a replacement).Sandoz is still the holder of the only NDA," explained MikeCoffee, Athena's vice president of sales and marketing.

This is the second agreement between the two companies ondrugs for treating neurological diseases. In April 1991, Sandozgranted to Athena of South San Francisco, Calif., an exclusivelicense to develop, market and sell tizanidine hydrochloride(AN021A) in the U.S. and Canada. Athena is sponsoring PhaseIII clinical trials on tizanidine for treating patients withspasticity associated with multiple sclerosis and spinal cordinjury.

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