LONDON, March 25 /PRNewswire/ --

The 2008 Frost Sullivan European Human Growth Hormone Competitive Strategy Leadership Award is presented to Ferring Pharmaceuticals. The award is in recognition of Ferring's initiatives in providing no-needle injection for human growth hormone (hGH). The company offers ZOMAJET 2 VISION and ZOMAJET VISION X, innovative no-needle delivery systems for its human growth hormone, ZOMACTON.

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These novel, no-needle delivery systems are poised to help Ferring to not only sustain its market share in the European growth hormones market, but also to expand its presence in the hGH market worldwide.

Drug delivery systems provide strategic differentiation to successfully increase sales for companies established in the hGH market, notes Frost Sullivan Research Analyst Prabakar Sampath. Through its innovation in no-needle devices, and clinical evidence showing the high level of childrens' preference for no-needle hGH administration, Ferring has shown leadership in meeting the needs of the paediatric population in this therapy area.

The majority of end users of hGH are children under the age of fifteen. Patient compliance is an issue for treatment with drugs that have to be administered on a daily basis. Frost Sullivan's end user analysis suggests that over 30 per cent of children using traditional methods of injection are likely to stop using hGH due to the inconvenience caused. This poor compliance is attributed to 'needle-phobia' and pain caused while administering injections.

A strategic partnership with Antares has enabled Ferring to provide pioneering, no-needle delivery devices for ZOMACTON. Ferring launched the ZOMAJET 2 VISION in Europe in 2002. It was one of the early providers of no-needle systems for hGH, making it an ideal choice for drug administration among the paediatric population.

Ferring is strongly committed to increasing physician awareness. For over two decades, it has been sponsoring training programmes hosted by the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE). These programmes are aimed at promoting physician awareness of new trends and treatments in the endocrinology domain.

The company also encourages discussions and interactions between older and younger paediatric endocrinologists, states Sampath. The sizeable educational grant provided by Ferring for such training programmes reflects its commitment to ensuring quality medical education for young endocrinologists.

The Frost Sullivan Award for Competitive Strategy Leadership is presented to the company whose competitive strategy has yielded significant gains in market share during the research period. Often, the recognised company has taken advantage of recent market changes that facilitate the introduction of never-before seen methods of capturing and solidifying market presence. Alternatively, the Award recipient may have executed an innovative strategy within the existing competitive landscape, empowering the company to overtake the competition. In either case, the company captures the attention of the competition, which quickly adjusts in order to protect its own market position. Frost Sullivan analysts expect such innovations to produce lasting, precedent-setting trends in the industry.

Frost Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognise companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.

About Ferring Pharmaceuticals

Headquartered in Switzerland, Ferring Pharmaceuticals is a research-driven, specialty biopharmaceutical group active in global markets. The company identifies, develops and markets innovative products in the areas of endocrinology, gastroenterology, urology, infertility and obstetrics.

Ferring has its own operating subsidiaries in 45 countries and markets its products in more than 70 countries. To learn more about Ferring or our products please visit www.ferring.com.

About Frost Sullivan

Frost Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best in class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best practice models to drive the generation, evaluation and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost Sullivan leverages over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from 31 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit http://www.frost.com.

Contact: Ciara Jamie Connolly, Senior Events Promotions Executive EMEA, Best Practices, Frost Sullivan, ciara.connolly@frost.com, P: +44-(0)-207-915-7868, F: +44-(0)-207-730-3343, www.frost.com

Ciara Jamie Connolly, Senior Events Promotions Executive EMEA, Best Practices, Frost Sullivan, +44-(0)-207-915-7868, fax, +44-(0)-207-730-3343, ciara.connolly@frost.com ; Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081117/FSLOGO