Small Business Resources, Business Advice and Forms from AllBusiness.com

Akorn, Inc. Signs Exclusive Development and Supply Agreement with Haemonetics Corporation for...

BUFFALO GROVE, Ill. -- Akorn, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKRX) today announced that it has signed an exclusive development and supply agreement with Haemonetics Corporation (NYSE: HAE) for three premix products. Premix medications are ready to use intravenous drug products which eliminate compounding steps in

the pharmacy or at the point of care.

Under the terms of the agreement, Akorn will be responsible for development, marketing and distribution. Haemonetics will manufacture the three products at its intravenous solutions manufacturing facility in Union, SC. The products are all expected to launch between 2010 and 2011, and represent a current total U.S. market size of approximately $500 million. One of the products will represent a new to market offering while the other two products will be filed as ANDAs. Akorn will own the ANDAs. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Arthur S. Przybyl, Akorn's President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "The addition of the premix platform to Akorn's injectable portfolio is an important step in our company's history. We look forward to partnering with Haemonetics which has a proven track record of supplying high quality premix products to the hospital and alternate site markets."

Bob Pike, Haemonetics Vice-President of New Product Development stated, "This is a great opportunity for our Solutions Contract Manufacturing business. We are excited to support the expansion of the Akorn portfolio by manufacturing their premix injectable products."

About Akorn, Inc.

Akorn, Inc. manufactures and markets sterile specialty pharmaceuticals. Akorn has manufacturing facilities located in Decatur, Illinois and Somerset, New Jersey and markets and distributes an extensive line of hospital and ophthalmic pharmaceuticals. Additional information is available at the Company's website at www.akorn.com.

Materials in this press release may contain information that includes or is based upon forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements give our expectations or forecasts of future events. You can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They use words such as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe," and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with a discussion of future operating or financial performance. In particular, these include statements relating to future steps we may take, prospective products, future performance or results of current and anticipated products, sales efforts, expenses, the outcome of contingencies such as legal proceedings, and financial results.

Any or all of our forward-looking statements here or in other publications may turn out to be wrong. They can be affected by inaccurate assumptions or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Many such factors will be important in determining our actual future results. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Our actual results may vary materially, and there are not guarantees about the performance of our stock.

Any forward-looking statements represent our expectations or forecasts only as of the date they were made and should not be relied upon as representing our expectations or forecasts as of any subsequent date. We undertake no obligation to correct or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, even if our expectations or forecasts change. You are advised, however, to consult any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our reports filed with the SEC. In particular, you should read the discussion in the section entitled "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, as it may be updated in subsequent reports filed with the SEC. That discussion covers certain risks, uncertainties and possibly inaccurate assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially from expected and historical results. Such factors include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties relating to the resolution of the FDA compliance issues at our Decatur, Illinois manufacturing facility. Other factors besides those listed there could also adversely affect our results.

In addition, make sure to read these articles: