Nycomed has signed up Almirall as a marketing partner for the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease treatment Daxas.

The two firms have entered into a co-branding agreement covering Spain for Daxas (roflumilast), Nycomed's once-daily COPD tablet. Under the terms of the agreement, the latter will receive an undisclosed upfront fee from Almirall, which will be exclusively promoting a second brand of the phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) enzyme inhibitor; Daxas was launched in Spain in February.

Almirall's chief operating officer Luciano Conde said the deal "reinforces our portfolio with a first-in-class product and allows us to leverage our respiratory capabilities and expertise". He added that the product "has a strong strategic fit in our business and is fully complementary with other bronchodilator treatments in COPD such as our R&D product aclidinium bromide which is expected to be filed this year".

Mr Conde stated that "we expect roflumilast to generate sales as of this year and could become one of Almirall's key products in the midterm". Head of commercial operations at Nycomed, Guido Oelkers, added that "since our local launch earlier this year, we have received a very positive response from Spanish physicians, which confirms our conviction of the potential of this important new approach for the treatment of COPD".