Good news for investors of BioDelivery Sciences.
A Monday morning press release announced that the company's treatment for breakthrough pain in cancer patients, Onsolis, will be available for sale on the Canadian market at some point during the current quarter.
Onsolis is already on the market in the United States, although sales have been hampered by REMS issues with the FDA, and is also approved in Europe as Breakyl. The product will be marketed in Canada by Meda Valeant Pharma Canada Inc., a joint venture between BDSI's partner Meda, and Valeant Canada Limited.
The above-mentioned issues regarding REMS in the United States will be a non-factor on the Canadian market, which bodes well for a quick introduction of Onsolis into the treatment of breakthrough cancer pain in Canada.
Onsolis is the first product to market utilizing BioDelivery's BEMA drug delivery technology, in which a drug is absorbed from a patch attached to the inner lining of the cheek. A similar product, BEMA Buprenorphine for the treatment of chronic pain, is also set to go before the FDA in early 2012, and may have more broad-market potential than Onsolis.
Shares of BDSI have experienced a recent dip, along with the rest of the market, but the Canadian launch and the possibility of a BEMA Bup approval next year - along with the resolution of the ongoing REMS discussions in the US - have this one on the potential rebound list.
Worth keeping an eye on.
Disclosure: Long BDSI.
