eastland enters malaria drug market through ne

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Eastland enters malaria drug market through new deals

By Emilie Reymond

15/02/2007 - Australian contract manufacturing organisation (CMO) Eastland Medical Systems has bagged a manufacturing and distribution contract with UK's Proto-Pharma for its anti-malaria treatment.

This latest deal is part of Eastland's strategy to build a strong position within the anti-malaria treatment arena by accessing international markets through partnerships.

Under the agreement, Eastland will manufacture and distribute commercial supplies of Proto-Pharma's new drug to Asia, India and the Pacific region.

Cinical trials of the drug will begin in Malaysia within three months although Eastland will not be manufacturing the clinical supplies - they will be provided by Proto-Pharma.

At this stage the company has the "know-how" but not the capacity for the manufacturing process of the drug but is now in the process of gaining the capabilities, Dermot Patterson, Eastland's CEO, told Outsourcing-Pharma.com.

"There is no requirement in the short term for Eastland to have to produce the product during the clinical trial and regulatory approval process, so we will have time to gear up for the commercial production."

However, the bulk of the manufacturing may not be carried out from Eastland's existing facilities in Australia. The firm is considering purchasing a new facility in the Asia-Pacific or Europe or outsourcing some of the manufacturing to a CMO in these regions, said Patterson.

"Eastland is looking at a whole range of different options in relation to the manufacturing operation. We are currently considering several offshore manufacturing facilities and following regulatory approvals, we expect sales and distribution to commence in 2008-09," he said.

Each year, malaria causes over 500m acute illnesses and one to two million deaths – primarily in small children – and 90 per cent of the burden of disease is in Africa, however, traditional anti-malaria tablets are in many cases ineffective in the treatment of children suffering from malnutrition and diarrhea.

Proto-Pharma claims its drug uses a new method of administration and a formula that offers a number of significant advantages over current tablet style medications.

"Particularly effective in children, the treatment attacks the malaria parasite at far greater speed than the conventional tablets, reducing the need for continued hospitalisation and resulting in significant cost savings to Governments and relief organisations," the company said.

This latest manufacturing deal follows a contract signed in December between Eastland's subsidiary Eastland Medical Systems South Africa (EMSSA) and Botswana firm Star Medical, which grants EMSSA the exclusive distribution of the new treatment in Sub-Saharan Africa.

"These two deals are expected to generate combined direct revenues of up to $40m in the second year of production, increasing to $80m by Year 4 as the treatment increasingly gains market and Aid subsidiary support," said Patterson.

"Eastland has now secured access to approximately 97 per cent of the world's malaria infected countries and their combined 485m reported cases of malaria."