LyphoMed Inc said it hastentatively agreed to form a joint venture with privately-held
Novopharm Ltd of Canada whereby each will market the other's
drug in their home country.
    LyphoMed will sell Novopharm's oral pharmaceutical drugs in
the U.S. and Novopharm will sell Lyphomed's injectable
pharmaceutical drugs in Canada, it said.
    The joint venture gives LyphoMed entry into the hospital
and retail oral pharmaceutical market with Novopharm's product
line. Novopharm in turn will strengthen its position in the
Canadian hospital market using LyphoMed's injectable products.
    The first product to be marketed will be cephalexin
monohydrate, now marketed by Eli Lilly Co &lt;LLY> as Keflex, a
product whose patent expires in April. Keflex is an antibiotic
with a current market in excess of 250 mln dlrs. It will be
made by Novopharm in Canada, sold to the new joint venture, and
distributed by LyphoMed in the U.S., it said.
 Reuter
