Posidorm is an unique surge sustained formulation of melatonin that provides 0.5mg of melatonin as an immediate release to promote sleep and 1.0mg as sustained release over several hours to maintain sleep

Melatonin is a natural hormone secreted by the pineal gland. It is the regulator of normal sleep and its deficiency or imbalance is potentially a cause of many sleeping disorders

Posidorm is being developed by Alliance for sleeping disorders in different patient groups.

Market research studies have shown that there is a clear need for new products for sleeping disorders that avoid the problems of habituation and next day 'hangovers'. The potential European sales for such products has been estimated to be in the range of 150M EUR to 300M EUR, with the market projected to develop signifcantly to>1B EUR by 2011 on the entry of new products.

Preliminary results are now available from pilot phase II trials in shiftworkers and elderly patients.

These results indicate a significant improvement in sleep duration compared with placebo when using the objective measure of actigraphy, a sleep measuring device.

Additionally, in the shiftworker group, performance measurements during the night showed improvements for trial participants on Posidorm.

In both groups Posidorm was well tolerated, there being no difference in the incidence of reported side-effects compared with placebo.

Phase II

IP protection: 10 year regulatory data exclusivity in Europe.

Alliance is seeking a co-development and co-marketing partnership deal with a partner company to progress Posidorm through late stage development to product registration and subsequent marketing.

Alliance seeks a partner that has an established track record of clinical development, regulatory approval and co-marketing partnerships, ideally for primary care products and that can offer a sales and marketing presence across Europe.