OctoPlus announces agreement with top-5 generics company for the development of specialty generic
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
OctoPlus N.V. ("OctoPlus" or the "Company") (Euronext: OCTO) announces today
that it has signed a feasibility agreement with a top-5 generics company to
develop a generic formulation of an existing injectable specialty pharmaceutical
product.
Under the terms of the contract that was announced earlier today, OctoPlus will
develop up to the phase of preparation for small-scale production, a generic
copy of one of the major injectable specialty pharmaceuticals. If the project is
successful, the contract may progress to a full process development and
manufacturing agreement. Financial terms of the current agreement have not been
disclosed.
What are specialty generics?
Specialty generics are generic versions of long-acting injectable drugs. Several
blockbuster injectable specialty pharmaceuticals are coming off patent in the
coming years, which opens the way to develop competitive products without
infringing on the original patents. The development process and market
introduction of specialty generics is significantly less expensive and shorter
than for new medicines, yet their commercial opportunity remains large. In
short, these are commercially very attractive opportunities.
Why we see an important role for OctoPlus in specialty generics
Although the commercial attractiveness of specialty generics is high, few
competitors have entered this market due to the specialized and complex
development and manufacturing process. It requires state-of-the-art equipment
and in-depth knowledge on developing, manufacturing and lyophilizing
microspheres. OctoPlus has gained over 16 years of experience and has built an
impressive infrastructure to work on these types of formulations. As one of the
few companies to combine microsphere formulation with manufacturing expertise,
we have a competitive edge in this market.
Specialty generics partnerships
Our efforts in specialty generics can either be structured through a fee-for-
service arrangement or by investing with our own financial resources. The latter
scenario allows us to participate more significantly in the commercial upside of
these products in the form of royalties, milestones and manufacturing revenue
upon commercialization. The contract announced today will initially be
structured on a fee-for-service basis.
Jan Egberts, CEO of OctoPlus: "Development of complex long-acting generic
products, so-called specialty generics, is a strategic focus for OctoPlus. Our
expertise in the development of these formulations is unique, and the
combination of our formulation development and our manufacturing expertise
really fits our sweet spot. This is the second specialty generic project which
we have initiated and we look forward to putting our expertise to use for this
project."
For further information, please contact:
Rianne Roukema, Corporate Communications: telephone number +31 (71) 524 1071, or
send an e-mail to Investor Relations at IR(at)octoplus.nl.
About OctoPlus
OctoPlus is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and
manufacture of improved injectable pharmaceuticals based on our proprietary drug
delivery technologies that exhibit fewer side effects, improved patient
convenience and a better efficacy/safety balance than existing therapies.
OctoPlus also focuses on the development of long-acting, controlled release
versions of known protein therapeutics, peptides and small molecules, including
specialty generics.
The clinically most advanced product incorporating our technology is
Locteron(®), a controlled release formulation of interferon alpha for the
treatment of chronic hepatitis C. OctoPlus licensed Locteron exclusively to
Biolex in October 2008. Locteron is being manufactured for Biolex by OctoPlus
and has completed Phase IIb clinical studies with superior clinical data versus
current treatment.
In addition, OctoPlus is a leading European provider of advanced drug
formulation and clinical scale manufacturing services to the pharmaceutical and
biotechnology industries, with a focus on difficult-to-formulate active
pharmaceutical ingredients.
OctoPlus is listed on NYSE Euronext in Amsterdam under the symbol OCTO. For more
information about OctoPlus, please visit our website www.octoplus.nl.
This document may contain certain forward-looking statements relating to the
business, financial performance and results of the Company and the industry in
which it operates. These statements are based on OctoPlus N.V.'s current plans,
estimates and projections, as well as its expectations of external conditions
and events. In particular the words "expect", "anticipate", "predict",
"estimate", "project", "plan", "may", "should", "would", "will", "intend",
"believe" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking
statements. We caution investors that a number of important factors, and the
inherent risks and uncertainties that such statements involve, could cause
actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in any
forward-looking statements. In the event of any inconsistency between an English
version and a Dutch version of this document, the English version will prevail
over the Dutch version.
Click here for the press release in PDF format:
http://hugin.info/137076/R/1593785/501588.pdf
This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of
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(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and
other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.
Source: OctoPlus N.V. via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1593785]
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 14.03.2012 - 07:30 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 124532
Anzahl Zeichen: 6611
contact information:
Town:
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Kategorie:
Business News
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