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Broad new marketing and distribution agreement

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(Lysaker, Norway, 29 September 2006) Navamedic ASA and Grünenthal GmbH has signed a Heads of Agreement for marketing and distribution of Glucomed®/Flexove(TM) in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus. Glucomed®/Flexove(TM) is a glucosamine HCl product for symptom treatment of osteoarthritis and Navamedic has now established a marketing and distribution network with 11 partners, among them Merck and Meda, covering 21 countries.
-Grünenthal sees the cooperation with Navamedic regarding their product Glucomed®/Flexove(TM) as a great opportunity. Glucomed®/Flexove(TM) fits well with our focus on development of products for treatment of pain and with our aim to become the preferred pain partner among all pharmaceutical companies. Grünenthal Russia is in 2006 the fastest growing pharmaceutical company in Russia and Glucomed®/Flexove(TM) will further enhance its development, says Mr. Henk Robert Van Ysendyck, Managing Director of Grünenthal Central Europe GmbH.


Navamedic's application for product approval in the EU/EAA was approved by the EU committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) in their September meeting, as a treatment for patients with mild to moderate osteoarthritis. A formal approval by the EU Commission is expected within 3 months. Navamedic will then have to obtain national marketing authorisation in each of the EU/EEA states (expected within Q1 2007). Grünenthal will be responsible for obtaining Marketing Authorisation in the non-EU countries covered by the new agreement.


- Grünenthal is a perfect partner, given the focus on pain relief and their established market positions in all the countries covered by the agreement. Once regulatory approvals are in place we should be in position to launch our product across a wide geographical area, also outside EU/EEA. We specially consider the opportunities in Russia as very interesting, since Russia is the sixth largest and one of the fastest growing pharmaceutical markets in Europe. We believe Glucomed® will offer an attractive alternative for pain alleviation for the large patient group suffering from chronic osteoarthritis, and having control over the entire value chain we believe we will be able to exploit this market in a profitable manner, says CEO Øyvind W. Brekke in Navamedic.


The final agreement is expected to be formally signed before 31.01.2007.


For further information, please contact:


Henk Robert Van Ysendyck, Managing Director Grünenthal Central Europe GmbH
Office: +43 2236 379550 - 39
Mobile : +43 664 548 7712


Øyvind W. Brekke, CEO Navamedic ASA
Office: +47 67 11 25 40
Mobile: +47 91 19 81 64


Bernt-Olav Røttingsnes, CFO/IRO Navamedic ASA
Office: +47 67 11 25 44
Mobile: +47 91 34 70 21
 
 
 
 
About Grünenthal:
Grünenthal researches ,develops and produces high therapeutic value medicines and markets them throughout the world. Grünenthal is an expert in drugs for pain therapy and gynaecology and a leader in the field of intelligent, user-friendly drug delivery technologies. Grünenthal is an independent, family-owned company with a long history of international cooperations. The company was founded in 1946 and has its headquarters in Germany. Grünenthal supplies their markets from seven production sites around the world and have affiliates in 26 countries. Grünenthal employs about 1,800 people in Germany and about 4,800 world-wide. Sales in 2005 amounted to approximately EUR 780 million. For more information, please see: www.grunenthal.com
 
About Navamedic ASA:
Navamedic is a Norwegian speciality pharmaceutical company focusing on the development and production of glucosamine HCl (hydrochloride) based medicines. Glucosamine is a generic active ingredient which relieves pain and improves function in patients with mild to moderate osteoarthritis. The product has a favourable safety profile. Osteoarthritis is a chronic disease which affects a large and growing share of the world`s population. Navamedic aims to become a leading company in the glucosamine industry, with a competitive advantage in proprietary production technology. Navamedic`s product Glucomed®/Flexove(TM) has been approved across 25 EU/EEA states by European Medicines Agency (EMEA), as the first and only glucosamine based medicine against osteoarthritis.  The company`s products will be sold through a network of sales, marketing and distribution partners. For more information, please see www.navamedic.com

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