Articles | Press Releases | Meetings/Tradeshows | Links | Archived Press Releases

Some of the links below require Acrobat Reader.

12/22/08

WARRENDALE, Pa.
Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals is ringing in the New Year in a new home

The 8-year-old pharmaceutical development company moved December 15 into new worldwide headquarters and distribution facilities at 119 Commonwealth Drive in the Thorn Hill Industrial Park in Warrendale. The company previously was located on Commerce Park Drive in Cranberry Township.

With 60,000 square feet of office and warehouse space, the new facilities are more than triple the size of the company’s former headquarters, offering ample room for growth.

The move to larger facilities was prompted by Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals recent $91 million acquisition of the rights to Infergen, a brand name hepatitis C drug. The deal to buy Valeant Pharmaceuticals International’s rights to the drug doubled Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals employment to more than 100. It also created the need for specialized technology, such as refrigeration capabilities.

Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals CEO, Donald Kerrish, said the new facilities were completely renovated and modernized to meet his company’s needs.

"The move into the Thorn Hill Industrial Park positions us for significant future growth," said Kerrish.

About Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals

Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals is a privately held company headquartered in Warrendale, Pennsylvania and focuses on specialized therapies including hepatitis C therapies. With its unique experience and understanding of the complex challenges of treating chronic, difficult diseases, Three Rivers is a valuable partner in the healthcare community.

The company’s mission is to develop, manufacture, and market the highest quality branded and generic drug products for patients with serious diseases. Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals focuses on specialized therapies because of our extensive knowledge and experience in this area. More information about the company can be found at www.3riverspharma.com.

9/17/08

CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa.
Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals®, LLC Obtains Additional Commercial Rights to Infergen® from Amgen Inc.

Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals, LLC announced today that it has signed a definitive license agreement with Amgen Inc. to expand its commercial rights to the hepatitis C drug Infergen. Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals will obtain commercial rights to Infergen in all markets except Japan. In addition, Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals will obtain commercial rights to China effective March 31, 2009. Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals currently has commercial rights to Infergen in the United States and Canada.

"The expansion of commercial rights to Infergen compliments Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals strategy to continue to grow its hepatitis C franchise," stated Patrick Kerrish RPh., MBA Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals' Executive Vice President of Business Development.

Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals will seek marketing partners to assist with the commercialization of Infergen outside of the United States. Interested marketing partners should contact Patrick Kerrish at pkerrish@3riverspharma.com

Infergen, or consensus interferon, is a unique, bio-optimized, selective and highly potent type 1 interferon alpha originally developed by Amgen and launched in the United States in 1997. Infergen is indicated for the treatment of chronic HCV infection in patients 18 years of age or older with compensated liver disease who have anti-HCV serum antibodies and /or the presence of HCV RNA.

Important Safety Information

Physicians and patients can obtain additional prescribing information regarding Infergen, including the product’s safety profile and the box warning for all interferon alphas regarding neuropsychiatric, autoimmune, ischemic and infectious disorders, by visiting www.infergen.com.

About Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals

Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals is a privately held company headquartered in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania and focuses on specialized therapies including hepatitis C therapies. Three Rivers is the first drug company to focus on the needs of the emerging specialty market. With its unique experience and understanding of the complex challenges of treating chronic, difficult diseases, Three Rivers is a valuable partner in the healthcare community.

The company’s mission is to develop, manufacture, and market the highest quality branded and generic drug products for patients with serious diseases. Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals focuses on specialized therapies because of our extensive knowledge and experience in this area. More information about the company can be found at www.3riverspharma.com.

CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa.
Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals®, LLC Acquires Hepatitis C Drug Infergen® from Valeant Pharmaceuticals

Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals, LLC finalized acquisition of the hepatitis C drug Infergen from Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (NYSE:VRX). Valeant is receiving $91 million from Three Rivers for the procurement.

“Adding Infergen to our growing portfolio is very exciting,” said Donald J. Kerrish, RPh, Three River’s president and chief executive officer. “This purchase is only a beginning for Three Rivers’ continuous strategy to increase its product offerings through product acquisition and internal product development of pharmaceutical therapies.”

Infergen, or consensus interferon, is a bio-optimized, selective and highly potent type 1 interferon alpha originally developed by Amgen and launched in the United States in 1997. It is currently indicated as monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients suffering from chronic hepatitis C viral infections with compensated liver disease and is dosed three times per week.

Important Safety Information

Physicians and patients can obtain additional prescribing information regarding Infergen, including the product’s safety profile and the box warning for all interferon alphas regarding neuropsychiatric, autoimmune, ischemic and infectious disorders, by visiting www.infergen.com.

About Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals

Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals is a privately held company headquartered in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania and focuses on specialized therapies including hepatitis C therapies. Three Rivers is the first drug company to focus on the needs of the emerging specialty market. With its unique experience and understanding of the complex challenges of treating chronic, difficult diseases, Three Rivers is a valuable partner in the healthcare community.

The company’s mission is to develop, manufacture, and market the highest quality branded and generic drug products for patients with serious diseases. Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals focuses on specialized therapies because of our extensive knowledge and experience in this area. More information about the company can be found at www.3riverspharma.com.

ALISO VIEJO, Calif. & CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals Sells Hep-C Drug Infergen® to Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals®, LLC for $91 Million

ALISO VIEJO, Calif. & CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (NYSE:VRX) and Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals, LLC jointly announced today that they have signed a definitive agreement for Valeant to divest the United States and Canadian rights to the hepatitis C drug Infergen (interferon alfacon-1) to Three Rivers. Valeant will receive from Three Rivers approximately $70.8 million in cash upon closing, and up to $20.5 million in two noncontingent payments over the following eighteen months. Under the terms of the agreement, Three Rivers will be assigned all United States and Canadian rights to Infergen and will acquire the remaining Infergen inventory from Valeant. The transaction is expected to close during the first quarter of 2008.

“The sale of Infergen to Three Rivers is an important step forward in executing our strategy of simplifying our operations,” said Timothy C. Tyson, Valeant’s president and chief executive officer. “We believe that by focusing our resources on products and regions where we have the greatest potential for market share growth and profitability, we will be able to improve our margins and yield better long-term shareholder value.”

“We are thrilled to add Infergen to our growing portfolio of antiviral agents,” stated Donald J. Kerrish, RPh, Three River’s president and chief executive officer. “This acquisition further promotes Three Rivers’ continuous strategy to expand its product offerings through product acquisition and internal product development in highly specialized therapeutic disease categories like hepatitis C.”

Infergen, or consensus interferon, is a bio-optimized, selective and highly potent type 1 interferon alpha originally developed by Amgen and launched in the United States in 1997. It is currently indicated as monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients suffering from chronic hepatitis C viral infections with compensated liver disease and is dosed three times per week.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 3.9 million Americans (1.8 percent) have been infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). HCV causes an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 deaths annually in the United States and is the leading cause of the need for liver transplants. The prevalence of HCV is increasing and approximately half of all patients with compensated liver disease do not respond to first-line treatment. There are approximately 250,000 of these non-responder patients currently in the U.S. and the number is growing by an estimated 50,000 each year.

Important Safety Information

Alpha interferons, including Infergen, cause or aggravate fatal or life-threatening neuropsychiatric, autoimmune, ischemic, and infectious disorders. Patients should be monitored closely with periodic clinical and laboratory evaluations. Patients with persistently severe or worsening symptoms of these conditions should be withdrawn from therapy. In many, but not all cases, these disorders resolve after stopping Infergen therapy. The most common side effects are flu-like symptoms (i.e., headache, fatigue, fever, myalgia, and rigors). Physicians and patients can obtain additional prescribing information regarding Infergen, including the product's safety profile and the box warning for all interferon alphas regarding neuropsychiatric, autoimmune, ischemic and infectious disorders, by visiting www.infergen.com.

About Valeant

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (NYSE:VRX) is a global, research-based specialty pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets products primarily in the areas of neurology, infectious disease and dermatology. More information about Valeant can be found at www.valeant.com.

Infergen is a registered trademark of Amgen, Inc., and Valeant Pharmaceuticals North America is the exclusive licensee from Amgen of this mark for use in the United States and Canada. All other trademarks are the trademarks or the registered trademarks of their respective owners.

About Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals

Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals is a privately held company headquartered in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania and focuses in specialized therapies like hepatitis C. The company’s mission is to develop, manufacture, and market the highest quality branded and generic drug products for patients with serious diseases.

The company is dedicated to increasing patient access to its products and providing access to patient support programs. More information about Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals can be found at www.3riverspharma.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws relating to expectations, plans or prospects for Valeant, including our ability to successfully close the transaction with Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals and divest Infergen and inventory relating to Infergen. These statements are based upon the current expectations and beliefs of Valeant’s management and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include market conditions, whether Valeant will be able to improve our margins, whether we will be able to yield shareholder value and other factors beyond Valeant’s control, and the risk factors and other cautionary statements discussed in Valeant’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of the forward-looking statements in this press release, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Valeant undertakes no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect actual outcomes.

Datamonitor
Three Rivers to market Amphocil in Ireland

Friday, October 12, 2007

Samaritan Pharmaceuticals has signed an exclusive licensing and distribution agreement with Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals to market Amphocil in Ireland. Amphocil is used for the treatment of invasive aspergillosis, a fungal infection that occurs in immuno-compromised patients.

Read More>>>>

The Irish Independent - Ireland
EirGen signs deal to create anti-cancer drugs for US

Friday September 28 2007

EirGen Pharma, a Waterford pharmaceutical R&D company, has struck a potentially lucrative deal with a American firm to develop and sell a range of anti-cancer drugs for the US market.

Despite being in business for just 18 months, EirGen has brokered a profit-sharing deal with US firm Three Rivers Pharma to develop and sell three new products.

Read More>>>>

Business Standard - India
US firm sues Cadila in patent row

P B Jayakumar / Mumbai July 10, 2007

Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals, a US-based speciality drug manufacturer, has sued Zydus Cadila (Cadila Healthcare) and its US subsidiary Zydus Pharmaceuticals (USA) for infringing on the former’s patent on a process for manufacturing an anti-viral drug Ribavirin used in the treatment of Hepatitis C.

Read More>>>>

Cranberry Township, PA
THREE RIVERS PHARMACEUTICALS, LLC PROTECTS ITS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals, LLC, a leading specialty drug manufacturer today announced that it has sued Zydus Pharmaceuticals (USA) Inc. and Cadila Healthcare Limited for infringement of Three Rivers’ United States Patent No. 6,720,000. The ‘000 patent is directed to a new and important process for producing ribavirin pellets using wet granulation. Ribavirin is a synthetic nucleoside analog with broad spectrum antiviral properties used to treat patients with Hepatitis C and other viral infections.

The lawsuit against Zydus and Cadila, now pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, seeks to enjoin those defendants from making, selling or importing finished dosage forms of ribavirin believed to be made by Three Rivers’ patented process.

“We had hoped to confirm Zydus’ and Cadila’s respect of our intellectual property without the need for litigation,” said Donald Kerrish, Three Rivers’ President and CEO, “but they refused to provide us with any meaningful assurance that Zydus and Cadila had not used and would not use our patented process.”

Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals is a privately held company headquartered in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania and focuses in specialized therapies. Ribasphere®, Three Rivers’ ribavirin drug product produced by the ‘000 patent process, was approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration in April 2004.

Cranberry Township, PA
Donald Kerrish, R.Ph. receives alumni achievement award from Duquesne University Mylan School of Pharmacy

D.U. Pharmacist | Spring 2007
Alumni Achievement Awardees

Donald J. Kerrish, R.Ph. is an owner and founder of Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals, a brand and generic pharmaceutical manufacturer, with headquarters in Cranberry Township, PA. Mr. Kerrish has served as a member of the Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals Board of Directors and as President and CEO since April 2000. While at Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Kerrish filed and received several patents for Ribasphere® 200 mg capsules, which was the first drug product approved for Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals for the treatment of Hepatitis C. Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals is currently conducting business in 45 countries, marketing both brand and generic drug products. In June 2006, Mr. Kerrish received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Upstate New York and Western Pennsylvania for the Health and Life Sciences, and was nominated for the 2006 Ernst and Young National Award related to the success of Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals.

Prior to holding his current position at Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Kerrish co-founded Fisher's Specialized Pharmacy Services (SPS) in 1997, which was later purchased by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield in 2003. At the time of the purchase, Fisher’s SPS was generating $30 million in annual sales and had 32 employees. In association with founding Fisher’s SPS, Mr. Kerrish received the 2002 City of Pittsburgh Historic Preservation Award for redeveloping a section of the North Side of Pittsburgh.

Prior to the formation of Fischer's SPS, Mr. Kerrish had a twenty-year career with Thrift Drug, most recently as a Pharmacy District Supervisor in North Carolina.

Mr. Kerrish received his Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy degree from Duquesne University in 1982 and served on the Duquesne University Mylan School of Pharmacy Dean's Advisory Board.

Mr. Kerrish served as an Adjunct Instructor for Mercer University Southern School of Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2004, he served on the Board of Directors on the Generic Pharmaceutical Association and was again elected to serve in 2007.

Mr Kerrish is a Pittsburgh native and now resides in Warrendale, PA with his wife Stephanie and three children, Casey, Kristen, and Christopher.

View PDF of D.U. Pharmacist | Spring 2007 newsletter

Cranberry Township, PA
Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals, LLC recently welcomed Pennsylvania State Representatives Jason Altmire and Daryl Metcalfe to its facilities in Cranberry Township, PA during the month of March. Company officials met with Representatives Altmire and Metcalfe to discuss critical industry topics related to legislation currently being considered on federal and state levels.

The generic pharmaceutical industry and its supporters are lobbying for several issues including the passage of an abbreviated approval pathway for biogeneric medicines. Legislation approving a pathway would bring safe, effective and affordable biogenerics to consumers who are in need of these life saving drugs.

In addition, state carve-out legislation is also a concern to the generic pharmaceutical industry. Innovator companies in the industry are urging state politicians for laws, which would prohibit automatic substitution with a generic equivalent at the pharmacy level. These state carve-out bills specifically include therapies for Hepatitis C, epilepsy, immunosuppressives, cancer, and HIV/AIDS. Generic substitution is a critical component of the generic pharmaceutical industry and ensures that companies can continue to bring cost effective medicines to consumers who need them.

These and other issues in the generic pharmaceutical industry are of major concern to Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals. Informing government officials about these issues and the pending legislation is the first step in combating efforts to hinder the generic industry.

Cranberry Township, PA
President and CEO of Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals, LLC, Mr. Donald Kerrish, has been elected to serve on the Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA) Board of Directors for 2007.

Mr. Kerrish also served on the Board in 2004.

GPhA represents the manufacturers and distributors of finished generic pharmaceuticals, manufacturers and distributors of bulk active pharmaceutical chemicals, and suppliers of other goods and services to the generic drug industry. Generic medicines offer patients an alternative to the brand, with the same quality and same result, but at a much lower cost.

With the help of organizations like GPhA, it is possible for Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals, LLC to help patients around the world improve the quality of their treatment. Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals, LLC has been a member of GPhA since 2001.

For more information on the GPhA, visit www.gphaonline.org

Meetings/Tradeshows | Back to Top

Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals will be exhibiting at the following upcoming meetings/tradeshows. Please give us a call to set up a meeting time, or just stop by our booth.

Business for Affordable Medicine (BAM)
www.bamcoalition.org

Coalition for a Competitive Pharmaceutical Market (CCPM)
www.competitiverx.com

AARP-Legislation and Elections
www.aarp.org/legislative

Hepatitis C Related

Treating Hepatitis C: An Update
GASTROENTEROLOGY & ENDOSCOPY NEWS

HCV Advocate
www.hcvadvocate.org

HIV and Hepatitis.com
www.hivandhepatitis.com

HCV in Prison
www.hcvinprison.org

Hep C Connection
www.hepc-connection.org

American Liver Society
www.liversociety.org

General Links

American Association for the Study of Liver Disease
www.aasld.org

Generic Pharmaceutical Association
www.gphaonline.com

AAPS Pharmaceutical
www.aapspharmaceutica.com

Association for Pharmaceutical Science and Technology (APS)
www.pda.org

Code of Federal Regulations
www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/index.html

Drug Information Association (DIA)
www.diahome.org

FDLI Online
www.fdli.org

Federal Register
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html

National Library of Medicine (NLM)
www.nlm.nih.gov

"The Gold Sheet Abstract"
http://www.thegoldsheet.com/FDC/Monthly/gold/TOC.htm

"The Pink Sheet Abstract"
http://www.thepinksheet.com/FDC/Weekly/pink/TOC.htm

United States Department of Health and Human Services
www.os.dhhs.gov

United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
www.fda.gov

United States National Institute of Health (NIH)
www.nih.gov

United States Pharmacopeia (USP)
www.usp.org

World Health Organization
www.who.int/home-page

Local Links

Pittsburgh Technology Council
www.pghtech.org

Cranberry Area Chamber of Commerce
www.cranberrychamber.com

Back to Top