Access Pharmaceuticals, maker of the FDA-approved MuGard for the treatment of Oral Mucositis, has hired a leading commercial manufacturer to begin producing the oral wound rinse as early as the fourth quarter of this year.

Initial batches of the U.S.-made MuGard will be used in one or more market seeding studies that Access plans to conduct following protocols that the company is currently developing, Access said in a news release.  Access entered into an agreement with Accupac, Inc., to serve as its commercial manufacturer of MuGard in North America.  Accupac makes, fills and packages a wide range of consumer commodity, over-the-counter and prescription products for the world's largest pharmaceutical and consumer products companies, the release notes.

"Establishing our relationship with Accupac, a leader in liquid contract manufacturing, is critical to our successful commercialization of MuGard," said Jeffrey B. Davis, Access' President and CEO.  Access notes that the market for the treatment of oral mucositis is estimated to be in excess of $5 billion globally when all patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy are counted.

The company's MuGard is a ready-to-use rinse that forms a protective coating over the oral mucosa when swirled gently around the mouth.  It is already being marketed in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Norway and Greece by Access' partner, SpePharm.

"In a comparison of cancer patients receiving standard oral mucositis care with those patients receiving MuGard, MuGard has been shown to significantly reduce the incidence and severity of the debilitating side effect of radiation treatment and chemotherapy," according to the Access release.

Access, an emerging biopharmaceutical company, is based in Dallas.  It develops and commercializes propriety products for the treatment and supportive care of cancer patients.

Photo:  Jeffrey B. Davis, Access Pharmaceuticals