Source: Intellipharmaceutics International Inc.

Intellipharmaceutics Reports on Launch of Additional Strengths of Generic Focalin XR® by Par Pharmaceutical

TORONTO, Nov. 30, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intellipharmaceutics International Inc. (NASDAQ:IPCI) and (TSX:IPCI) (“Intellipharmaceutics” or the “Company”), a pharmaceutical company specializing in the research, development and manufacture of novel and generic controlled-release and targeted-release oral solid dosage drugs, today announced that its U.S. marketing partner, Par Pharmaceutical Inc. (“Par”), has launched the 5 and 40 mg strengths of its generic Focalin XR® (dexmethylphenidate hydrochloride extended-release) capsules in the U.S.  The launch of the 5 and 40 mg strengths complements the 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 mg strengths of generic Focalin XR® previously launched and marketed by Par.  Under a licensing and commercialization agreement between the Company and Par, the Company receives quarterly profit-share payments on Par's U.S. sales of generic Focalin XR®.

“The Par launch of the 5 and 40 mg strengths now provides us with the full line of generic Focalin XR® strengths available in the U.S. market,” said Dr. Isa Odidi, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Intellipharmaceutics.  “We expect that making available the full complement of generic Focalin XR® strengths will be seen as a benefit by wholesale purchasers of our product.”

Focalin XR®, a drug used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is marketed by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation. According to Symphony Health Solutions, sales for the 12 months ended October 31, 2017 of Focalin XR® (branded and generic) in the 5 and 40 mg strengths, respectively, in the U.S. were approximately US$71 million and US$43 million (TRx MBS Dollars, which represents projected new and refilled prescriptions representing a standardized dollar metric based on manufacturer's published catalog or list prices to wholesalers, and does not represent actual transaction prices and does not include prompt pay or other discounts, rebates or reductions in price).  According to Symphony Health Solutions, sales in the United States for the 12 months ended October 31, 2017 of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 mg strengths of Focalin XR® (branded and generic) were approximately US$801 million (TRx MBS Dollars).  There can be no assurance that the Company's generic Focalin XR® in the additional 5 and 40 mg strengths will be successfully commercialized.

About Intellipharmaceutics

Intellipharmaceutics International Inc. is a pharmaceutical company specializing in the research, development and manufacture of novel and generic controlled- and targeted-release oral solid dosage drugs. The Company's patented Hypermatrix™ technology is a multidimensional controlled-release drug delivery platform that can be applied to a wide range of existing and new pharmaceuticals. Intellipharmaceutics has developed several drug delivery systems based on this technology platform, with a pipeline of products (some of which have received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) approval) in various stages of development. The Company has abbreviated new drug application (“ANDA”) and new drug application (“NDA”) 505(b)(2) drug product candidates in its development pipeline. These include our Oxycodone ER product, an abuse deterrent oxycodone based on its proprietary nPODDDS™ novel Point Of Divergence Drug Delivery System (for which an NDA has been filed with the FDA), and Regabatin™ XR (pregabalin extended-release capsules).

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number of competitive product entries, and the nature and extent of any aggressive pricing and rebate activities that may follow, the inability to forecast wholesaler demand and/or wholesaler buying patterns, seasonal fluctuations in the number of prescriptions written for our Focalin XR® product which may produce substantial fluctuations in revenue, the timing and amount of insurance reimbursement regarding our products, changes in laws and regulations affecting the conditions required by the FDA for approval, testing and labeling of drugs including abuse or overdose deterrent properties, and changes affecting how opioids are regulated and prescribed by physicians, changes in laws and regulations, including Medicare and Medicaid, affecting among other things, pricing and reimbursement of pharmaceutical products, changes in U.S. federal income tax laws currently being considered, including, but not limited to, the U.S. changing the method by which foreign income is taxed and resulting changes to the passive foreign investment company laws and regulations which may impact our shareholders, the success and pricing of other competing therapies that may become available, our ability to retain and hire qualified employees, the availability and pricing of third-party sourced products and materials, challenges related to the development, commercialization, technology transfer, scale-up, and/or process validation of manufacturing processes for our products or product candidates, the manufacturing capacity of third-party manufacturers that we may use for our products, potential product liability risks, the recoverability of the cost of any pre-launch inventory should a planned product launch encounter a denial or delay of approval by regulatory bodies, a delay in commercialization, or other potential issues, the successful compliance with FDA, Health Canada and other governmental regulations applicable to us and our third party manufacturers' facilities, products and/or businesses, our reliance on commercial partners, and any future commercial partners, to market and commercialize our products and, if approved, our product candidates, difficulties, delays, or changes in the FDA approval process or test criteria for ANDAs and NDAs, challenges in securing final FDA approval for our product candidates, including our oxycodone hydrochloride extended release tablets (“Oxycodone ER”) product in particular, if a patent infringement suit is filed against us, with respect to any particular product candidates (such as in the case of Oxycodone ER), which could delay the FDA's final approval of such product candidates, healthcare reform measures that could hinder or prevent the commercial success of our products and product candidates, the FDA may not approve requested product labeling for our product candidate(s) having abuse-deterrent properties targeting common forms of abuse (oral, intra-nasal and intravenous), risks associated with cyber-security and the potential for vulnerability of our digital information or the digital information of a current and/or future drug development or commercialization partner of ours, and risks arising from the ability and willingness of our third-party commercialization partners to provide documentation that may be required to support information on revenues earned by us from those commercialization partners. Additional risks and uncertainties relating to us and our business can be found in the "Risk Factors" section of our latest annual information form, our latest Form 20-F, and our latest Form F-3 (including any documents forming a part thereof or incorporated by reference therein), as well as in our reports, public disclosure documents and other filings with the securities commissions and other regulatory bodies in Canada and the U.S., which are available on www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov. The forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events, and are based on what we believe are reasonable assumptions as of the date of this document, and we disclaim any intention and have no obligation or responsibility, except as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Trademarks used herein are the property of their respective holders.

Unless the context otherwise requires, all references to "we," "us," "our," "Intellipharmaceutics," and the "Company" refer to Intellipharmaceutics International Inc. and its subsidiaries.

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Company Contact:

Intellipharmaceutics International Inc.
Andrew Patient
Chief Financial Officer
416-798-3001 ext. 106
investors@intellipharmaceutics.com

Investor Contact:

ProActive Capital
Kirin Smith
646-863-6519
ksmith@proactivecapital.com