– CORTRIA Granted Exclusive License to Apply ProCR™ Technology to TRIA-662™ –
WILMINGTON, NC and BOSTON, Mass. – December 15, 2008 -- AAIPharma and CORTRIA Corporation today announced they have signed a deal granting CORTRIA Corporation the right to use AAIPharma’s proprietary, controlled release oral drug delivery technology known as ProCR™ in conjunction with CORTRIA’s TRIA-662 drug candidate.
ProCR™ is a novel controlled-release technology developed by AAIPharma for use with orally administered drug products and reflects AAIPharma’s long-standing commitment to providing safe, cost-effective, and easy to manufacture formulation offerings.
TRIA-662 is CORTRIA’s lead drug candidate currently in Phase 2 clinical development for dyslipidemia. In preliminary human studies, TRIA-662 has shown the potential to provide the benefits for niacin therapy without causing skin flushing, a common, use-limiting side effect of niacin agents.
“We believe TRIA-662 is one of the most exciting drug candidates in the cardiovascular pipeline today and we are pleased to work with CORTRIA to help develop this product candidate for patients with dyslipidemia,” said Lee Karras, Senior Vice President of Global Pharmaceutical Services at AAIPharma. “Our goal is to work with companies like CORTRIA who have best-in-class therapeutic candidates and who can further benefit from best-in-class oral drug delivery solutions to maximize therapeutic performance.”
“AAIPharma has a rich history of providing oral solid dosage formulation development and has already been an outstanding partner for CORTRIA in the area of analytical services,” commented Daniel Grau, CEO and Vice Chairman of CORTRIA. “Through this new agreement, we look forward to expanding our relationship with AAIPharma by applying its ProCR™ technology in the development of commercial formulations of TRIA-662.”
Further terms of the license agreement have not been disclosed.
About TRIA-662
TRIA-662 is currently in Phase 2 clinical development for the treatment of dyslipidemia, an atherogenic disorder characterized by abnormal fat levels in the bloodstream. In preliminary human studies, TRIA-662 demonstrated the potential to provide the desirable benefits of niacin therapy without flushing. Niacin was the first lipid-modifying agent proven in outcomes trials to extend life, yet the side-effects of niacin, principally skin flushing, cause many patients to discontinue therapy and dramatically limit the drug’s potential. Previous efforts to create a flush-free niacin therapeutic – using extended release formulations, dose titration and, more recently, fixed dose combination technologies – have not been successful. As a result, TRIA-662 represents an important opportunity as a new first-line therapy in the multi-billion dollar cardiovascular risk reduction market.
About ProCR™
ProCR™ is a novel, controlled-release technology developed by AAIPharma for use with orally administered drug products. ProCR™ consists of unique and proprietary combinations of GRAS (generally recognized as safe) excipients, which when combined with an active pharmaceutical agent in a tablet or capsule, result in a near linear controlled release profile. ProCR™ has been shown to work well with a variety of drug candidates of varying solubility.
About CORTRIA
CORTRIA is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing safe and well-tolerated medicines to fight cardiovascular disease. CORTRIA is based in Boston, MA and backed by Domain Associates and MVM Life Science Partners.
About AAIPharma
AAIPharma Inc. is a global drug development company that provides services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries. AAIPharma’s service offerings include: analytical services, product development services, oral drug delivery technologies, contract manufacturing (solids and parenterals), clinical packaging and distribution, phase I clinical development services, including bioanalysis and clinical services, phase II-IV.
(c) 2008 AAIPharma Inc. and CORTRIA Corporation. All rights reserved.
Contacts: AAIPharma Kim Emory Phone: 910.254-7000 Email: kimbelyn.emory@aaipharma.com www.aaipharma.com
CORTRIA Corporation Daniel Grau Phone: 617.456.2008 Email: dan@cortria.com www.cortria.com For CORTRIA Media: MacDougall Biomedical Communications Chris Erdman Phone: 781.235.3060 Email: cerdman@macbiocom.com
