China Nuokang Bio-Pharmaceutical Inc. Broadens Product Portfolio by Acquiring Alpha Lipoic Acid Capsule for Diabetic Patients

Published on Wednesday, 11 January 2012 09:11 Written by TradersHuddle Staff

BEIJING, Jan. 11, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- China Nuokang Bio-Pharmaceutical Inc. (Nasdaq:NKBP) ("Nuokang" or the "Company"), a fully integrated, China-based biopharmaceutical company focused on the research, development, manufacture, marketing and sales of hospital-based medical products, today announced that it has acquired from Shandong Qidu Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. ("Qidu Pharma") for a cash consideration of RMB18 million the manufacturing license and marketing rights for Alpha Lipoic Acid Capsule ("ALA"), also known as Thioctic Acid, an antioxidant product that addresses diabetic neuropathy. Upon the transfer of the manufacturing license from Qidu Pharma, the Company will be one of the two pharmaceutical companies in China licensed to manufacture ALA. ALA will be in the new drug monitoring period through October 2014, during which period there will be no additional market entrants due to current Chinese government regulations.

The Company expects to begin manufacturing ALA in its production facilities in Penglai, China in 2014 when the transfer of the ALA manufacturing license is expected to be completed. Until that time, Qidu Pharma has agreed to fulfill the full production needs for ALA for the Company on a contractual basis at a pre-determined, fixed price. The Company has begun to actively participate in provincial tendering processes for the drug and expects to begin recognizing meaningful revenues from it in the second half of 2012.

Mr. Baizhong Xue, the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We are excited to broaden our portfolio to include a diabetic drug. We believe, with the evolving lifestyles and food consumption habits of the Chinese population and more than 90 million diabetic patients in China, there is a growing market for diabetes-related medical products in China. ALA has been clinically proven to be able to lower or maintain blood glucose levels and help manage diabetic peripheral neuropathy by killing free radicals. ALA has been used for years as a prescription drug to treat peripheral neuropathy in several European and South American countries including Germany, Russia and Argentina. It has also been widely used as a nutraceutical product in the United States. Most importantly, we believe that this acquisition demonstrates our continued dedication to product diversification and brings us closer to our goal of becoming one of China's leading diversified biopharmaceutical companies."

About China Nuokang Bio-Pharmaceutical Inc.

China Nuokang Bio-Pharmaceutical Inc. (Nasdaq:NKBP) is a fully integrated, China-based biopharmaceutical company focused on the research, development, manufacture, marketing and sales of hospital-based medical products. The Company provides a diversified portfolio of products across more than 2,900 hospitals in China. Nuokang's principal products include (i) Baquting®, the Company's flagship bleeding control product, (ii) Kaitong®, the lipid emulsion alprostadil product for the treatment of peripheral vascular diseases, cardiocerebral microcirculation disorders and post-surgery thrombosis, (iii) Aiduo®, the cardiovascular stress imaging agent and (iv) Aiwen®, the anti-arrhythmic agent. Please visit www.nkbp.com for more information.

Safe-Harbor Statement

This press release contains statements of a forward-looking nature. These statements, including the statements relating to the Company's expectation relating to the completion of the transfer of the ALA manufacturing license, are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including certain plans, expectations, goals, and projections, which are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements containing words such as "will," "future" and "believe" or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are subject to change at any time. These forward-looking statements are based upon management's current expectations and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the Company's control that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

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