READING, 15th September 2008 – Archimedes Development Ltd, a subsidiary of Archimedes Pharma Ltd the UK-based pan-European specialty pharmaceutical company, today announces it has acquired a portfolio of intellectual property relating to a range of novel chemical derivatives of chitosan from Fennopharma Ltd, an innovative Research & Development company based in Kuopio, Finland.
The intellectual property acquired relates to highly water-soluble forms of chitosan, a bioadhesive polymer derived from natural sources. Under the agreement, Fennopharma assigns to Archimedes exclusive rights to key chitosan-related patents and all technical information and know how related to preclinical development and manufacturing. Fennopharma will also be contracted to synthesise and supply Archimedes with material in the short-term. Further details of the agreement are not disclosed.
The intellectual property acquired will allow Archimedes to significantly extend the applicability of ChiSys®, Archimedes’ highly effective proprietary chitosan-based intranasal drug delivery technology. A particular advantage of the new technology is that the effectiveness of ChiSys is maintained at a range of physiological pH, enabling medicines that would currently be too unstable or insoluble to now be delivered as a nasal spray - typically poorly soluble acidic moieties. Intranasal vaccine development will also benefit from this new chitosan technology.
Alan Smith, Vice President, Research & Development, Archimedes Development commented: “The ChiSys platform has already proven its potential in safely and effectively increasing the nasal bioavailability of a wide range of drugs. This latest extension to our capability enables us to formulate the ChiSys platform with drugs across the entire range of physiological pH for the first time. Having worked successfully with Fennopharma to evaluate the potential of this technology, we are delighted to have brought it under our direct control.”
