Generic biopharmaceuticals represent an increasing proportion of medicines dispensed. In 1984, generic pharmaceuticals accounted for approximately 18.6% of all prescriptions filled. Today, nearly 50% of all prescriptions are filled with generic products annually.

Analysts forecast that U.S. generic products will surpass brand name products in the number of new prescriptions written over the next several years. Analysts predict that by 2005 the generic pharmaceutical products in the U.S. will have annual sales in excess of $22 billion.

The importance of generic alternatives to approved products for the increasingly cost-conscious healthcare environment cannot be overstated.

Cangene is a leader in the follow-on biologics field and well placed to take advantage of this next big wave in the generic pharmaceutical industry. Cost-effective manufacturing is key in developing generic products; Cangene’s proprietary CANGENUS® expression system simplifies protein recovery, and a new fermentation facility brings the full manufacturing process in-house.

One of Cangene’s follow-on biologic products, Leucotropin™, is its version of a protein called GM-CSF that stimulates the production of certain white blood cells. These important immune system cells can be depleted by chemotherapeutic agents and radiation. Cangene recently began a project in partnership with a Canadian government preparedness initiative to develop Leucotropin™ as a therapy for white-blood-cell damage resulting from radiation exposure.

Cangene’s other entry in the follow-on biologic arena, hGH is its version of human growth hormone. This area offers a large potential commercial opportunity and Cangene is competitively placed with an established technology base and manufacturing expertise. The time span for developing follow-on biologic products could be significantly shorter than for their innovative counterparts, with a parallel reduction in cost and risk.

LEUCOTROPIN™

Biopharmaceutical - Cangene's brand of GM-CSF, Leucotropin™ is a protein that stimulates the production of certain infection fighting white blood cells in the body. These white blood cells are depleted by cancer chemotherapy and certain AIDS treatments, putting the patient at risk of infection. A phase III clinical trial for bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cell transplantation has been completed.

hGH

Biopharmaceutical - Cangene’s Human Growth Hormone (hGH), acts on the long bones of the body until the onset of puberty and promotes growth to normal stature. A deficiency in this hormone during childhood results in a condition called pituitary dwarfism; resulting in abnormally small stature. Growth hormones have also been shown to alleviate cachexia, the profound wasting that often accompanies AIDS and some cancers.