UPDATE 1-Depomed files marketing application for pain drug

* Submits new drug application to FDA for DM-1796

* Shares rise 3 pct after the bell

March 30 (Reuters) - Depomed Inc (DEPO.O) said it filed with U.S. regulators for marketing approval for its experimental neuropathic pain drug, sending its shares up 3 percent.

The company submitted a new drug application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its drug DM-1796, which is used to manage postherpetic neuralgia (PHN).

DM-1796 is a once-daily tablet formulation of gabapentin, which is used to treat seizures and PHN -- a neuropathic pain syndrome that usually follows an outbreak of shingles.

Depomed has licensed the rights to the drug to Abbott Products, a unit of Abbott Laboratories (ABT.N).

The application follows the completion of a late-stage trial in October last year that showed the drug achieved a statistically significant reduction in average daily pain score associated with PHN versus the dummy pill, Depomed said.

Shares of the company rose 3 percent to $3.69 in after-market trade. They closed at $3.58 Tuesday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Shailesh Kuber in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)