MAPPharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that it has received anotice of termination of the license agreement with AstraZeneca related to thecompany's Unit Dose Budesonide (UDB) product candidate. The termination wasreceived on July 8, 2009, effective immediately. All rights licensed toAstraZeneca in the agreement now revert to the company. MAP Pharmaceuticalsplans to suspend development of UDB, which did not meet primary endpoints in aPhase 3 trial in children 12-months to eight years of age with mild asthma."Physicians and parents continue to express a need for improved therapiesfor pediatric asthma that offer faster nebulization times, lower doses ofsteroid exposure, improved treatment compliance and reduced side effects whencompared to currently available therapies. MAP Pharmaceuticals is consideringoptions for its pediatric asthma program moving forward, including thedevelopment of a next generation therapy with budesonide," said Timothy S.Nelson, president and chief executive officer of MAP Pharmaceuticals."Separately, MAP Pharmaceuticals remains focused on developing our LEVADEX(TM)migraine therapy, which recently achieved all four primary endpoints in aPhase 3 clinical trial, with the goal of bringing this differentiatedtreatment to the many patients who suffer from the debilitating effects ofmigraine."