Recordati: approval obtained in Italy for an innovative anti depressant drug

Milan - 23 December 2002

Recordati announced today the favorable conclusion of the mutual recognition procedure for the approval in Italy, as well as in other European countries, of escitalopram, a drug indicated for the treatment of depression and panic disorders, under license from the Danish pharmaceutical company Lundbeck.

Escitalopram is a drug belonging to the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI’s) class of antidepressants which is expected to be co-marketed by Recordati with Lundbeck as from the second half of 2003, following the completion of the normal pricing procedures.

Escitalopram is the successor to citalopram, a drug with proven efficacy and excellent tolerability. The market in Italy for the class of drugs which includes escitalopram continues to grow and is estimated to be worth around € 316 million in 2002.

Recordati obtained the license to escitalopram on the back of the successful performance of citalopram which was launched in 1995 and which recorded sales in excess of € 32 million during the last 12 months, or a market share of more than 10%.

“Escitalopram represents a new therapeutic opportunity” underlined Giovanni Recordati, Chairman and CEO. “This new drug which offers patients an even more advantageous therapeutic profile will be further appreciated by the medical community in Italy as an improvement over its already successful predecessor.”

Recordati, established in 1926, is a European pharmaceutical group, listed on the Italian Stock Exchange (Reuters RECI.MI, Bloomberg REC IM, ISIN IT 0003074447), dedicated to the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical chemicals, with headquarters in Milan, Italy and operating subsidiaries in France, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the United States.