Memantine. Merz.

Memantine hydrochloride, an NMDA antagonist, was launched in Germany by Merz in 1989 for the treatment of dementia, an indication for which development was continuing in other markets. It is also under development by Merz, Lundbeck, Neurobiological Technologies Inc (NTI) Forest Laboratories and Suntory for the potential treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD), AIDS-related dementia and pain in patients with neuropathy, and by Allergan for the potential treatment of ocular disease. By July 2001, a regulatory filing for neuropathic pain was expected in 2003. In February 2002, the CPMP recommended to the EU commission to approve memantine for the treatment of moderately severe-to-severe Alzheimer's disease. At this time, marketing authorization was expected late in the first half of 2002, and Lundbeck planned to launch memantine under the brand name Ebixa during the second half of 2002. Merz and Lundbeck, filed memantine for AD in the EU in September 2000 and an NDA was submitted in November of that year. The compound was in phase H trials in the US for the treatment of AIDS-related dementia and pain by August 1996 and phase III trials for glaucoma and neuroprotection by 1999. Analysts at Merrill Lynch predicted in October 2001 that Allergan would make regulatory filings in the US for memantine in glaucoma and ocular hypertension in 2005, and that Forest Laboratories would file for memantine in the US as a supplement to Alzheimer's disease data in early 2002, and for the treatment of neuropathic pain in 2003. Sales of $25 million in 2004, rising to $75 million in 2005, were predicted by Merrill Lynch for this product.