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Biovail Corp. said yesterday that it has won the right to be the Canadian distributor for GlaxoSmithKline PLC's popular drugs Wellbutrin SR and Zyban.

Wellbutrin SR is an anti-depressant that is taken twice daily. Zyban is an anti-smoking medication, prescribed to people addicted to nicotine. Both contain the same active ingredient, bupropion.

"They're the same product, if you will -- same drug, same formulation, but two different brand names," Ken Howling, Biovail's vice-president of finance, said in an interview yesterday.

Financial details were not disclosed in the companies' news release, but Mr. Howling said the deal was worth between two and three times the 2002 revenues for both drugs.

Combined annual sales for Wellbutrin SR and Zyban in Canada were expected to top $30-million (U.S.), Mississauga-based Biovail said, making the deal worth between $60-million and $90-million, according to Mr. Howling's comments.

"It's an extension of our relationship [with Glaxo], but it is a totally independent, new transaction," Mr. Howling said, referring to Biovail's existing licensing deal with Britain-based Glaxo for a once-a-day version of the anti-depressant, called Wellbutrin XL.

The XL drug -- which was developed by Biovail and licensed to Glaxo -- is under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

As part of the deal, Biovail also has the option to market Wellbutrin XL in Canada, once the drug gets final approval from the FDA, which Mr. Howling expects during the first half of 2003.

"Not only do we gain immediate ownership of the existing in-market brand -- Wellbutrin SR -- but it's the opportunity to launch this new and improved formulation, this once-daily formulation, Wellbutrin XL, under that Wellbutrin brand name," Mr. Howling explained.

Biovail said the total anti-depressant market in Canada was valued at more than $450-million for the 12-month period ended Oct. 31 and is growing at a rate of about 17 per cent a year.

About 18 million prescriptions were written for anti-depressants in the past year, reflecting year-over-year growth of 12 per cent, it added.

In the United States, sales for Wellbutrin SR surpassed $1.4-billion for the 12 months ended Oct. 31.

Biovail also said yesterday that it has signed a deal with Glaxo to extend its marketing rights for Zovirax Ointment and Zovirax Cream to 20 years from 10 years. Biovail will pay Glaxo $40-million for the extension, it said.

Zovirax Ointment is used for the treatment of genital herpes, and Zovirax Cream is used to treat cold sores. Zovirax Cream is being reviewed by the FDA, and the company expects the product to launch during the second quarter of 2003.

Biovail's share price fell 64 cents (Canadian) or about 1.6 per cent to $40.20 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. They sit at the bottom end of their 52-week range of $31.52 and $91.