-----BEGIN PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE----- Proc-Type: 2001,MIC-CLEAR Originator-Name: webmaster@www.sec.gov Originator-Key-Asymmetric: MFgwCgYEVQgBAQICAf8DSgAwRwJAW2sNKK9AVtBzYZmr6aGjlWyK3XmZv3dTINen TWSM7vrzLADbmYQaionwg5sDW3P6oaM5D3tdezXMm7z1T+B+twIDAQAB MIC-Info: RSA-MD5,RSA, VNL7imw+trgxf6a1gx2IsMwJ+t1bo/85rUKLyEOMKwhFQS4fQSIIFjLdUc32+1Q8 9m6fFbOPORbxMEHqqSgldQ== 0001104659-08-058698.txt : 20080915 0001104659-08-058698.hdr.sgml : 20080915 20080915161957 ACCESSION NUMBER: 0001104659-08-058698 CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE: 8-K PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT: 2 CONFORMED PERIOD OF REPORT: 20080915 ITEM INFORMATION: Other Events ITEM INFORMATION: Financial Statements and Exhibits FILED AS OF DATE: 20080915 DATE AS OF CHANGE: 20080915 FILER: COMPANY DATA: COMPANY CONFORMED NAME: CEPHALON INC CENTRAL INDEX KEY: 0000873364 STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION: PHARMACEUTICAL PREPARATIONS [2834] IRS NUMBER: 232484489 STATE OF INCORPORATION: DE FISCAL YEAR END: 1231 FILING VALUES: FORM TYPE: 8-K SEC ACT: 1934 Act SEC FILE NUMBER: 000-19119 FILM NUMBER: 081071792 BUSINESS ADDRESS: STREET 1: 41 MOORES ROAD CITY: FRAZER STATE: PA ZIP: 19355 BUSINESS PHONE: 6103440200 MAIL ADDRESS: STREET 1: 41 MOORES ROAD CITY: FRAZER STATE: PA ZIP: 19355 8-K 1 a08-23554_18k.htm 8-K

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C.  20549

 

FORM 8-K

 

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported) September  15, 2008

 

Cephalon, Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

 

Delaware

 

0-19119

 

23-2484489

(State or Other Jurisdiction

 

(Commission

 

(IRS Employer

of Incorporation)

 

File Number)

 

Identification No.)

 

 

 

 

 

41 Moores Road

 

 

Frazer, Pennsylvania

 

19355

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

 

(Zip Code)

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (610) 344-0200

 

Not Applicable

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

 

o Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

o Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

 

 



 

Item 8.01               Other Events.

 

On September 15, 2008, Cephalon, Inc. (the “Company”)  issued a press release regarding the receipt of a complete response letter from the United States Food and Drug Administration with respect to the Company’s supplemental New Drug Application for FENTORA® (fentanyl buccal tablet)[C-II]. The Company hereby incorporates by reference the press release dated September 15, 2008, attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1, and made a part of this Item 8.01.

 

Item 9.01               Financial Statements and Exhibits.

 

(d)                                 Exhibits

 

Number

 

Description

99.1

 

Press Release dated September 15, 2008

 

2



 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

 

 

CEPHALON, INC.

 

 

 

 

Date: September 15, 2008

By:

/s/ Gerald J. Pappert

 

 

Gerald J. Pappert

 

 

Executive Vice President, General Counsel

 

3



 

EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit

 

 

Number

 

Description

99.1

 

Press Release dated September 15, 2008

 

4


EX-99.1 2 a08-23554_1ex99d1.htm EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

 

Cephalon Receives Complete Response Letter Regarding Request for
Expanded FENTORA Label for Non-Cancer Breakthrough Pain

 

FDA Requests Enhancements to Risk Mitigation Strategies
Consistent with Company’s Recommendations

 

Frazer, PA – September 15, 2008 – Cephalon, Inc. (Nasdaq: CEPH) announced today receipt of a complete response letter from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for FENTORA® (fentanyl buccal tablet) [C-II] as a treatment for opioid-tolerant patients with non-cancer breakthrough pain.  In its letter, the FDA requested that Cephalon implement and demonstrate the effectiveness of proposed enhancements to the current FENTORA risk management program.  These enhancements are consistent with the strategies the company presented at the FDA Advisory Board meeting on May 6, 2008.  The agency also requested routine safety updates; no additional safety or efficacy studies were requested.  In accordance with new FDA regulations, the company anticipates receiving a second communication from the agency requesting that the FENTORA Risk Minimization Action Plan (RiskMAP) be converted to incorporate the new standards for the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) safety plan.

 

“The FDA request for revisions to the FENTORA risk management program was expected and over the last four months we have been working diligently to prepare for implementation of the program as soon as possible.  We anticipate that the subsequent letter from the agency will provide useful guidance to finalize the timeline for and implementation of ongoing enhancements to the risk management program,” said Dr. Lesley Russell, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Cephalon.  “We intend to put into place a REMS that we hope will not only demonstrate effectiveness for mitigating the risks associated with FENTORA but also pave the way for a new industry standard for opioid pain medications.”

 

To address the FDA’s request in the complete response letter, Cephalon plans to implement COVERS™, a first-of-its-kind initiative designed to minimize the potential risk of overdose from an opioid through appropriate patient selection.  This innovative component of the FENTORA REMS program will educate and engage physicians, patients and pharmacists to assure that patients prescribed FENTORA are opioid-tolerant.  Additionally, the company will continue to enhance its existing programs to mitigate risks associated with abuse and misuse.

 

FENTORA is currently approved for the management of breakthrough pain in opioid-tolerant patients with cancer (for full prescribing information, visit www.fentora.com).  The FENTORA sNDA, submitted by Cephalon in November 2007, is based on data from three randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials in patients with chronic non-cancer pain conditions and one long-term open-label safety study with a total of 941 patients.  The patients in these trials were treated for up to 18 months and had a broad range of underlying chronic pain conditions, including chronic low back and chronic neuropathic pain.  In these trials, opioid-tolerant patients with chronic pain treated with FENTORA experienced statistically significant improvements in relief from breakthrough pain with an onset and duration of relief similar to that seen in studies of FENTORA in patients with cancer.

 



 

Cephalon, Inc.

 

Founded in 1987, Cephalon, Inc. is an international biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative products in four core therapeutic areas: central nervous system, pain, oncology and addiction.  A member of the Fortune 1000, Cephalon currently employs approximately 3,000 people in the United States and Europe.  U.S. sites include the company’s headquarters in Frazer, Pennsylvania, and offices, laboratories or manufacturing facilities in West Chester, Pennsylvania, Salt Lake City, Utah, and suburban Minneapolis, Minnesota.  The company’s European headquarters are located in Maisons-Alfort, France.

 

The company’s proprietary products in the United States include: TREANDA® (bendamustine hydrochloride) for Injection, AMRIX® (cyclobenzaprine hydrochloride extended-release capsules), PROVIGIL® (modafinil) Tablets [C-IV], FENTORA, TRISENOX® (arsenic trioxide) injection, VIVITROL® (naltrexone for extended-release injectable suspension), GABITRIL® (tiagabine hydrochloride), NUVIGIL™ (armodafinil) Tablets [C-IV] and ACTIQ® (oral transmucosal fentanyl citrate) [C-II].  The company also markets numerous products internationally.  Full prescribing information on its U.S. products is available at http://www.cephalon.com or by calling 1-800-896-5855.

 

In addition to historical facts or statements of current condition, this press release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements provide Cephalon’s current expectations or forecasts of future events. These may include statements regarding anticipated scientific progress on its research programs; development of potential pharmaceutical products; interpretation of clinical results, including the results of the FENTORA clinical trials; prospects for final regulatory approval of FENTORA; manufacturing development and capabilities; market prospects for its products, particularly with respect to FENTORA sales and earnings guidance; and other statements regarding matters that are not historical facts. You may identify some of these forward-looking statements by the use of words in the statements such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe” or other words and terms of similar meaning. Cephalon’s performance and financial results could differ materially from those reflected in these forward-looking statements due to general financial, economic, regulatory and political conditions affecting the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries as well as more specific risks and uncertainties facing Cephalon such as those set forth in its reports on Form 8-K, 10-Q and 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Given these risks and uncertainties, any or all of these forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect. Therefore, you should not rely on any such factors or forward-looking statements. Furthermore, Cephalon does not intend to update publicly any forward-looking statement, except as required by law. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 permits this discussion.

 

Media Contacts:

 

 

 

Investor Relations Contact:

Stacey Beckhardt

 

Candace Steele

 

Chip Merritt

610-738-6198 (office)

 

610-727-6231 (office)

 

610-738-6376  (office)

610-247-0212 (cell)

 

484-318-0804 (cell)

 

cmerritt@cephalon.com

sbeckhar@cephalon.com

 

csteele@cephalon.com

 

 

 

2


-----END PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE-----