Somaxon's Silenor now commercially available in U.S.

Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: SOMX), a specialty pharmaceutical company, today announced that Silenor® (doxepin) now is commercially available by prescription in the United States. Somaxon has implemented a wholesale and retail stocking program to disseminate Silenor 3 mg and 6 mg dosepacks to pharmacies across the United States. Silenor is indicated for the treatment of insomnia characterized by difficulty with sleep maintenance.

“We look forward to promoting this highly differentiated product to healthcare providers alongside our co-promotion partner, Procter & Gamble. Our combined sales teams will begin full-scale, field-based promotion of the product on September 20, 2010, targeting approximately 35,000 physicians and 25,000 pharmacies across the U.S.”

"The commercial availability of Silenor, the first and only prescription product approved for the treatment of sleep maintenance insomnia that is not a controlled substance, is an important milestone for Somaxon and marks the completion of our product launch preparations," said Richard W. Pascoe, Somaxon's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We look forward to promoting this highly differentiated product to healthcare providers alongside our co-promotion partner, Procter & Gamble. Our combined sales teams will begin full-scale, field-based promotion of the product on September 20, 2010, targeting approximately 35,000 physicians and 25,000 pharmacies across the U.S."

"In conjunction with the deployment of our field-based promotion to healthcare providers, we will launch a comprehensive marketing program that will utilize web-based initiatives and will be directed at both physicians not called on directly by our sales force as well as patients suffering from sleep maintenance insomnia," continued Pascoe. "This campaign will highlight the traits that we believe will position Silenor for success in the insomnia market - the ability to treat sleep maintenance insomnia into the final hours of the night without meaningful next-day residual effects and without abuse potential."