Business Insights, PHARMACY MARKET
Businesswire | August 03, 2023
MedinCell During today’s Q2 earnings call, Richard Francis, President and CEO of Teva, and Eric Hughes, Executive Vice President, Global R&D & Chief Medical Officer, commented the US launch of UZEDY since May 2023 and the olanzapine Long-Acting Injectable (LAI).
About UZEDY
Richard Francis said1
“We are actually right on plan or slightly ahead of our market access strategy targets and we are very happy with the launch.”
“The newest member of our innovative family is said risperidone, our long-acting treatment for schizophrenia. Now, to remind everybody, this is a $4 billion market and we've only just launched UZEDY, but we're very pleased with the feedback we're getting from healthcare professionals. And they're confirming that the product profile that we have is unique and advantageous. Now we're seeing this in the fact that our NBRX2 is 40%, so already we're getting 40% of the risperidone long-acting market. We're also seeing hospitals look to use our free samples and free trial requests, and we're having good discussions with our payers. So once again, I think excitement around UZEDY early days, but initial feedback is very positive.”
UZEDY, a long-acting injectable (LAI) risperidone for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults, is the first FDA-approved product based on MedinCell’s BEPO technology. MedinCell is eligible for up to $105m commercial milestones and for royalties on net sales.
About LAI olanzapine (mdc-TJK), initiated in January 2023
Eric Hughes said1
“Our Olanzapine Phase 3 study is actually enrolling very quickly.”
“Olanzapine as an oral agent account for 20% of the patients being treated today, but only less than 1% of patients on the long-acting form are being using that product. And that's primarily because of the safety profile3.”
Richard Francis, said1
“With olanzapine, I've already highlighted the fact that it's a $4 billion market. But if we do manage to bring this to the market with a favorable safety profile, I think we have a real opportunity to have a significant product on our hands here.”
mdc-TJK is an investigational long-acting injectable olanzapine also based on BEPO technology. If approved, it could be the first olanzapine LAI with a favorable safety profile offering a valued treatment option as a complement to UZEDY for severe schizophrenia patients. MedinCell is eligible for $12m left out of $17m of development milestones, for up to $105m commercial milestones and for royalties on net sales.
About MedinCell
MedinCell is a commercial-stage technology pharmaceutical company developing long-acting injectable drugs in many therapeutic areas. Our innovative treatments aim to guarantee compliance with medical prescriptions, to improve the effectiveness and accessibility of medicines, and to reduce their environmental footprint. They combine already known and used active ingredients with our proprietary BEPO® technology which controls the delivery of a drug at a therapeutic level for several days, weeks or months from the subcutaneous or local injection of a simple deposit of a few millimeters, entirely bioresorbable. The first treatment based on BEPO technology, intended for the treatment of schizophrenia, was approved by the FDA in April 2023, and is now distributed in the United States by Teva under the name UZEDY™.
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Pharmacy Market
PRNewswire | August 17, 2023
Frontage Laboratories, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Frontage Canada, Inc., completed the acquisition of Nucro-Technics Inc. and its affiliate Nucro-Technics Holdings, Inc.
Nucro-Technics is a pharmaceutical contract research organization that conducts analytical chemistry, microbiology, toxicology, bioanalytical, and stability sample storage and testing services. In addition, it provides consulting services, especially in quality control and assurance as well as in Natural Health Product Regulations.
Nucro-Technics, located in the Toronto, Canada metropolitan area, operates in a state-of-the-art 60,000 square foot facility and employs personnel having expertise in testing both large and small molecules designed to treat various medical conditions. For over 50 years, Nucro-Technics has been conducting studies for various clients including major pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device companies, as well as smaller organizations including industry trade groups and academia. Nucro-Technics has successfully developed and validated numerous methods, as well as participated in providing comprehensive IND packages to clients for regulatory submissions. Nucro-Technics, an ISO 9001:2015 certified organization, conducts studies that are in compliance with GLP and GMP regulations.
"Today marks a momentous and an exciting occasion. It is a day to celebrate two great companies coming together. It is with great pleasure that I welcome the extraordinary Nucro-Technics team to the Frontage family," said Dr. Abdul Mutlib, CEO of Frontage. "Nucro-Technics has been recognized as a leader in the Canadian CRO market for over 50 years, and its unparalleled client services is a perfect match for the culture of Frontage Laboratories. This acquisition not only significantly strengthens our presence in Canada, but also will enable the combined organization to offer a more expansive suite of services to clients across the globe. We are looking forward to partnering with the Nucro team to deliver the world-class expertise that clients have come to expect from us."
According to Dr. Song Li, Founder and Chairman of Frontage: "Nucro has developed a remarkable platform with a truly impressive team of experts. The closing of this transaction marks the next step in our ongoing effort to build Frontage into one of the major players in the global CRO market. In doing so, we will continue our focus on delivering the highest levels of quality, technology and expertise to our clients."
"I'm delighted to announce that we will be partnering with Frontage Labs for the next phase of Nucro Technics' growth journey. Since founding the business in 1970, we've worked hard to become the North American boutique in pre-clinical and drug product release testing services. Partnering with Frontage Labs marks an exciting chapter in the evolution of our efforts to support and accelerate pharmaceutical research and development," said John Fanaras of Nucro Technics.
Frontage was advised by Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG) while Nucro-Technics was advised by Dentons and PricewaterhouseCoopers Corporate Finance Inc.
About Frontage
Frontage Holdings Corp (1521.HK), together with its wholly owned subsidiary Frontage Laboratories, Inc., is a global Contract Research Organization (CRO) which provides integrated, science-driven, product development services from drug discovery to late phase clinical process to enable biopharmaceutical companies to achieve their development goals. Comprehensive services include drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics, analytical testing and formulation development, preclinical and clinical trial material manufacturing, bioanalysis, preclinical safety and toxicology assessment and early phase clinical studies. Frontage has enabled many biotechnology companies and leading pharmaceutical companies of varying sizes to advance a myriad of new molecules through development and to successfully file global regulatory submissions.
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Pharmacy Market
Businesswire | August 18, 2023
Koneksa, a healthcare technology company pioneering evidence-based digital biomarkers, today announced the first collaboration in the Koneksa Academic Partnership Program for Parkinson’s Disease (KAPP-PD) to incorporate its Neuroscience Toolkit into research programs.
The first collaboration of the KAPP-PD program, with Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), enables the inclusion of app-and actigraphy-based digital measures and electronic patient reported outcome (ePRO) instruments from Koneksa’s Neuroscience Toolkit into a study comparing short-acting versus long-acting levodopa in Parkinson’s disease. Koneksa’s Neuroscience Toolkit implements a variety of digital assessments that can be combined to collect data for measures of interest.
The OHSU team, led by Dr. Delaram Safarpour, MD, MSCE, FAAN, is investigating changes in the neurophysiological correlates of PD with carbidopa-levodopa immediate release compared to long-acting levodopa (Rytary), as well as changes in gait performance at intervals of 30 minutes for a total of 4 hours during each visit. This research will provide strong support for clinical profiles of short- versus long- acting levodopa in PD corresponding to objective physiological measures.
“We are collaborating with Koneksa to enhance our study’s objectives: We’ll be including smartphone- and actigraphy-based digital measures and electronic patient reported outcome (ePRO) instruments into our study,” said Martina Mancini, Ph.D., co-investigator of the study, director of the Balance Disorders Laboratory, and Associate Professor of Neurology, OHSU School of Medicine. “Our lab uses new technologies to better understand and measure motor impairments, with the goal of learning how to better help patients with these conditions. Novel, objective metrics, like those made possible with Koneksa’s technology and toolkit, allow us to expand upon what we’ve been able to do in the clinic. In particular, digital at-home measures of daily physical activity, gait and mobility, motor functionality, sleep, and ePRO measures of quality of life all have the potential to uniquely complement OHSU’s in-clinic assessments, offering new and real-world-setting patient insights to support the study’s objectives.”
“Koneksa is proud to extend our contribution to critical neuroscience research through KAPP-PD, and we’re delighted to get the program underway with our first collaboration,” said John Wagner, MD, Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer, Koneksa. “These measures will support OHSU in both in-clinic and at-home patient monitoring of critical parameters of interest for this study. We’re committed to helping to get new and better treatments to patients faster, and that’s a vision that OHSU’s Balance Disorders Laboratory shares.”
About the Koneksa Academic Partnership Program – Parkinson’s Disease
The Koneksa Academic Partnership Program – Parkinson’s Disease (KAPP-PD) is a structured collaboration between Koneksa and select academic partners that enables researchers to incorporate Koneksa’s Neuroscience Toolkit into research programs focusing on Parkinson’s disease. Researchers gain access to an array of devices that capture key measures objectively and sensitively, as well as training materials for site coordinators and study subjects, a cloud-based platform for real-time monitoring, and industry-leading analytics and patented algorithms.
About Koneksa
Koneksa is a healthcare technology company pioneering evidence-based digital biomarkers to accelerate clinical research and guide decision making in drug development and market strategy. Our evidence-based biomarker solutions enable efficient clinical trial designs to help innovative therapies reach patients faster. Koneksa aims to revolutionize treatment effect detection in clinical research and improve patient outcomes.
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