Partnering with Forest: Frequently Asked Questions
Forest has extensive experience working closely with a variety of US, European,
and Asian partners. The information below answers many of the most common questions
regarding Forest’s partnership goals, its partnering philosophy and the range of
expertise available to each partner.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What distinguishes Forest as a partner?
A: Our focused approach, flexibility, rapid decision-making process,
and track record in collaborations is what make us a uniquely desirable partner.
Since flexibility is the key to a successful alliance, we mobilize our pre-clinical,
clinical, regulatory, marketing, manufacturing, and distribution resources to meet
the unique requirements of each partnership.
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Q: What type of success has resulted from these collaborations?
A: Our collaborations have delivered a number of
important drugs to market including:
Lexapro®(escitalopram oxalate), a widely prescribed antidepressant;
Namenda®(memantine HCl),
the first drug approved for the treatment of moderate and severe Alzheimer’s disease;
and Campral® (acamprosate calcium),
the first new drug approved for alcohol dependency in a decade. Our success in obtaining
a continuing pipeline of innovative products is based on our strengths in drug development,
sales, and marketing. Some of our existing partnerships have yielded positive results
that in turn have produced multiple product opportunities. For example, our collaboration
with Lundbeck first brought the SSRI antidepressant Celexa to the US market and
then followed with the licenses of several other compounds including, Lexapro.
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Q: What kinds of products — and what kinds of partners
— does Forest seek?
A:Forest seeks in-licensing opportunities in all
phases of development from pre-clinical to products ready for FDA review. We are
open to virtually any therapeutic category, including areas in which we are currently
active. We partner with a wide range of companies—from small biotech firms
to mid-sized companies to multinationals. Our collaborations also include the co-development
and co-promotion of drug products. Our goal is to deliver effective therapies.
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Q: What do partners discover when they work with Forest?
A:They discover that we have as much passion for
successfully marketing their products as if it were our own. We have a sense of
ownership at every level including sales, marketing, and medical. Our senior management
is intimately involved in the licensing process and pays close attention to our
carefully selected pipeline. Our scientific staff has the full range of resources
and talent to conduct the preclinical through Phase IV research needed to bring
a drug to market, and our national sales force has more than 2,800 representatives
and managers. We use state-of-the-art tablet and liquid production equipment. Our
fully automated distribution operations can ship our products to customers throughout
the US
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Q: What is the extent of Forest’s selling capabilities?
A:An industry-leading sales force ranked at top
for productivity and sales call quality, the Forest sales organization is comprised
of 2,800 professionally trained representatives. Our sales forces—which reach
primary care physicians, psychiatrists, neurologists, hospitals, managed care organizations,
and senior care providers nationwide – have a track record of helping to establish
drugs like Lexapro®(escitalopram
oxalate) and Namenda®(memantine
HCl) as leaders in their categories. Forest is consistently ranked as
one of the best companies to sell for by Selling Power magazine.
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Q: What kind of regulatory experience does Forest have?
A: Our regulatory expertise is a primary reason
for our ability to bring products to market quickly and efficiently. Having brought
several innovative drugs through the complex regulatory process, we have a commanding
knowledge of relevant laws and regulations regarding Investigational New Drug/New
Drug Applications (IND/NDA) and Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) processes.
Our track record includes meeting the requirements of the expedited review process
for drugs such as Namenda.
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Q: What are Forest’s drug product formulation capabilities?
A: Forest has the capability to prepare immediate
release, modified, and controlled release formulations of tablets and capsules.
We also have experience developing liquids, aerosols, and dry powder inhalers.
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Q: What manufacturing capabilities does Forest have?
A: Forest operates several FDA-licensed solid dosage
and liquid manufacturing and packaging facilities in the US These state-of-the-art
facilities—covering more than 530,000 square feet—are capable of producing
more than 16 billion solid-form doses and 2 million liters of liquid annually. In
Europe, Forest operates IMB- and MCA-licensed solid dosage manufacturing and packaging
facilities totaling 100,000 square feet, capable of producing more than 4 billion
doses annually. To meet current and future production needs, additional property
expansions and acquisitions are planned to manufacture, package, warehouse and distribute
our growing product line.
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Q: What is Forest’s marketing experience?
A: We have launched and promoted products in intensely competitive markets. The launches of
Celexa®(citalopram HBr),
Lexapro®(escitalopram oxalate),
Benicar®(olmesartan medoxomil),
Namenda®(memantine HCl), and
Bystolic® (nebivolol)
have all been cited by pharmaceutical industry observers as being among the most
successful new product introductions in their respective years. After the launch
of Lexapro in 2002, it quickly became one of the most prescribed antidepressants
in the United States. Similarly, in 2004, Namenda became the number two product
in its category within three months of launch. Benicar launched into a crowded ARB
market as the seventh ARB and, as the fastest-growing ARB, is now third in its market.
And Campral®(acamprosate calcium), the treatment for alcohol dependence, became
the number one product for new prescriptions in less than five months after its
launch.
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Q: What kinds of agents does Forest have in development?
A: Currently, Forest’s pipeline includes investigational
agents in the therapeutic areas of asthma, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, stroke,
Alzheimer’s, neuropathic pain, fibromyalgia, and CNS disorders.
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Q: How do I contact Forest about licensing opportunities?
A: Call our Licensing and Business Development
department at (212) 224-6921.
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