Signs Second Agreement with Battleepharma 14-06 0945
Eiffel Technologies Ltd (EIF: ASX) announced today it has signed a second agreement with BattellePharma, a pre-public specialty pharmaceutical company based in the United States. Under this 12-month contract, Eiffel will create drug nanoparticles for BattellePharma's asthma product, now in development, using its suite of Supercritical Fluid (SCF) technologies. BattellePharma will utilize the drug particles in the development of a novel asthma product and will test it using BattellePharma's proprietary Mystic(TM) inhalation delivery technology. Eiffel will retain the intellectual property that relates to the process and methodology of its SCF technology. Specific details of the agreement and the project were not disclosed.
Eiffel's SCF technology is a chemical engineering technique that is emerging within the pharmaceutical industry as a tool used to improve drug delivery and effectiveness. It results in increased and more consistent absorption of drugs in the body, reduced patient side effects, and increased efficacy and delivery options. The re-engineering of existing therapies is a way to extend the patent life of currently marketed and generic drugs.
This is the fourth international drug delivery agreement in six months for Eiffel Technologies. This second collaboration with BattellePharma, which has partnerships with several major pharmaceutical groups, follows a recently completed initial research collaboration with the company. Eiffel's other recently announced partnerships include a contract signed with Sheffield Pharmaceuticals Inc, in the US in December 2001, and a research collaboration signed in May 2002 with Amarin Corporation in the United Kingdom.
With more than US $40 billion in drugs coming off patent over the next five years, there is a need for improved drug delivery and performance through particle re-engineering. The global market for asthma therapeutics is estimated at more than US $8 billion a year and more than 100 million people suffer from asthma worldwide.
"This second agreement with BattellePharma is a revenue generating contract and serves as a strong endorsement for our SCF technologies," said Christine Cussen, Eiffel Technologies CEO. "Eiffel adds value by reformulating new, currently marketed, and generic pharmaceuticals to improve the performance of therapies and offer more convenient, patient-friendly delivery of drugs. The BattellePharma agreement represents the potential to progress towards a long term supply agreement with a highly reputable pharmaceutical Company."
"We are pleased to continue our relationship with Eiffel," said Dennis Cearlock, BattellePharma's CEO. "Our Mystic technology, which outperforms current inhaled drug delivery options, allows for highly reproducible dosing, resulting in better disease management and lower overall doses for improved safety. We believe the combination of the SCF technology and our Mystic delivery system will enhance the performance of BattellePharma's asthma product."
Eiffel Technologies Ltd, is a bioengineering company focused on improving the performance and delivery of pharmaceuticals, proteins and peptides. Based in Melbourne, Australia, the company is dedicated to the development and commercialization of SCF drug re-engineering technologies to improve therapeutic outcomes and patient administration of new and currently marketed pharmaceuticals. For more information on Eiffel Technologies, see the company website www.eiffeltechnologies.com.au for details.
BattellePharma is a pre-public specialty pharmaceutical company leveraging science and technology to design more effective medicines. The company has a growing portfolio of nine products in development, with several in early clinical trials. The products are based on three proprietary platforms: Mystic(TM) inhalation technology, novel formulation technologies, and inhaled anticancer therapy. The company develops products by combining these platforms with novel or generic compounds to create therapies to treat respiratory and systemic diseases and lung cancer. BattellePharma has partnerships with numerous pharmaceutical corporations, including Abbott Laboratories, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer Inc, Viasys Healthcare, and ViroPharma Inc, and is a subsidiary of Battelle Memorial Institute, the world's largest independent and private research and development organization. For more information on BattellePharma, reference the company's website at www.bettellepharma.com.
