valeant pharmaceuticals international, inc. form 6-k

"We are extremely pleased with our strong start in 1996," stated Eugene Melnyk, Chairman of the Board. "The substantial increase in ourquarterly revenues, net income and earnings per share was driven by sales from the formal launch of Tiazac(R) by our U.S. marketing partner,Forest Laboratories. Preliminary results of this launch indicate that Tiazac(R) is successfully penetrating the once-daily diltiazem market, asevidenced by the recent prescription data provided by IMS, a medical market research organization. Forest Laboratories' aggressive promotionand stocking program has placed initial quantities of Tiazac(R) in approximately 55,000 pharmacies across the U.S.""Tiazac(R)'s unique bioequivalence, which allows patients treated on Cardizem CD to switch to Tiazac(R) at the nearest equivalent daily dose,has substantially affected the number of new prescriptions written to date for our product. Also, due to its wider dosing range and attractiveprice, we are confident that Tiazac(R) will continue to gain increased market acceptance both domestically and abroad. As recently announced,we received approval from the Medicines Control Agency (MCA) to market all five dosage strengths of Tiazac(R) in the UK. This marksTiazac(R)'s first international approval," continued Mr. Melnyk.Mr. Melnyk concluded, "In keeping with our strategy of providing optimum shareholder value, during the quarter we announced a 3-for-1 stocksplit which took effect in January. We also strengthened our senior management team, with the hiring of Bob Podruzny (Corporate Finance),Kenneth Cancellara (Legal), Marie-Claire Pilon (International Marketing) and Paul Desjardins Ph.D. (Contract Research), providing theinfrastructure needed for Biovail to continue to grow within the global pharmaceutical community."Biovail Corporation International is an international full-service pharmaceutical company, engaged in the formulation, clinical testing,registration and manufacture of drug products utilizing advanced drug delivery technologies.-- Tables Follow --