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Title: Canasa (Mesalamine) Suppository for Treatment of Ulcerative Proctitis Launched in US

"Canasa (Mesalamine) Suppository for Treatment of Ulcerative Proctitis Launched in US"

MONT SAINT-HILAIRE, QC -- February 28, 2005 -- Axcan Pharma Inc. ("Axcan" or the "Company") announced today the launch of Canasa 1000 mg, the only FDA approved once-daily mesalamine suppository for the treatment of ulcerative proctitis. Axcan received a three-year marketing exclusivity for the new dosage form under the non-patent exclusivity provisions of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. "The once-a-day Canasa 1000 mg suppository offers a new treatment option for patients with ulcerative proctitis," said Dr. Miguel Regueiro, Associate Professor of Medicine and Co-Director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. "The 1000 mg suppository is as efficacious as the twice-a-day Canasa 500 mg suppository, but 1000 milligrams once a day is easier for patients to use and should improve compliance." In the United States, the rectal mesalamine market is valued at approximately U.S. $82 million annually. According to IMS Health data published in December 2004, approximately 56% of all U.S. gastrointestinal prescriptions for rectal mesalamine were written for Canasa 500 mg, making Axcan's Canasa 500 mg the most prescribed brand of rectal mesalamine in the U.S. About Ulcerative Proctitis Ulcerative proctitis is a subgroup of ulcerative colitis, one of the most common inflammatory bowel diseases. In approximately 30% of patients with ulcerative colitis, the illness begins as ulcerative proctitis where bowel inflammation is limited to the rectum. Currently, it is estimated that there are approximately 1,000,000 cases of inflammatory bowel disease in the U.S. with approximately 400,000 new cases every year. The name Canasa is a trademark of Axcan Pharma Inc. and its subsidiaries. SOURCE: Axcan Pharma Inc

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