Derma Sciences, Inc. Gets NIMBUS Antimicrobial Rights From Quick-Med Technologies
Under the terms of the agreement, Derma Sciences will make a $1.3 million upfront payment to Quick-Med Technologies and future milestone payments based on sales of products incorporating the licensed technology. In addition, the royalty paid by Derma Sciences to Quick-Med Technologies on such products will be lowered from 20% currently, to a sliding scale starting at 8.5% and declining as sales milestones are achieved.
Sales by Derma Sciences of products covered by this agreement were approximately $1.5 million in 2011, and are expected to grow between 30% and 40% annually, in line with expectations for the Company's advanced wound care product portfolio. This agreement provides Derma Sciences with exclusive global rights through the life of the patents, excluding India as well as the OTC market.
"This exclusive global license strengthens Derma Sciences' ownership of our proprietary advanced wound care products, and will positively impact our BIOGUARD gross margin through a significantly lowered royalty rate," said Edward J. Quilty, chief executive officer of Derma Sciences. "The Quick-Med technology is the only commercial antimicrobial that is non-leaching. Because it does not interfere with the wound-healing process, it is an ideal dressing for infection prevention. With regard to the expanded opportunity afforded to us through the global nature of our new license, given the prevalence of gauze used around the world, we believe the demand outside of the U.S. will be very strong for these predominantly gauze-based, highly effective, yet inexpensive antimicrobial dressings. In addition, this new long-term agreement will allow us to use our recently expanded sales force in the U.S. to increase revenues, and to accelerate plans for product launch in Europe and the rest of the world," Mr. Quilty concluded.
According to Ladd Greeno, CEO of Quick-Med Technologies, "Derma Sciences has established a strong presence in the U.S. wound-care market and we look forward to having them serve as our long-term partner to maximize BIOGUARD product potential. We have spent considerable time and money building strong intellectual property for our NIMBUS technology worldwide, and this patent protection will allow Derma Sciences to leverage its growing presence in markets outside the U.S., as well."
NIMBUS is the only non-leaching antimicrobial technology cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for wound care; other antimicrobial dressings rely on the release of chemicals to the wound bed that can impede the wound healing process. NIMBUS is non-toxic, long-lasting and not blocked by organics such as blood, exudates, urine and perspiration. By design, NIMBUS poses no risk of bacteria developing resistance.
About Quick-Med Technologies, Inc.
Quick-Med Technologies, Inc. is a life sciences company that is developing proprietary, broad-based technologies for infection prevention and control in the consumer and healthcare markets. In addition to NIMBUS, Quick-Med's Stay Fresh(R) technology provides highly durable antimicrobial protection for laundered apparel and other textile applications and its NimbuDerm(TM) technology is being developed as a long-lasting hand sanitizer. For more information please visit www.quickmedtech.com .
About Derma Sciences, Inc.
Derma Sciences is a medical technology company focused on three segments of the wound care marketplace: pharmaceutical wound care products, advanced wound care dressings and traditional dressings. Derma Sciences has successfully completed the Phase 2 clinical trial in diabetic foot ulcer healing with DSC127, an investigational pharmaceutical drug under development for accelerated wound healing and scar reduction, and is preparing to begin Phase 3 clinical trials. Its MEDIHONEY(R) product is the leading brand of honey-based dressings for the management of wounds and burns. The product has been shown to be effective in a variety of indications, and was the focus of a positive large-scale, randomized controlled trial involving 108 subjects with leg ulcers. Other novel products introduced into the $14 billion global wound care market include XTRASORB(R) for better management of wound exudate, BIOGUARD(R) for infection prevention and TCC-EZ(TM), a gold-standard treatment for diabetic foot ulcers. For more information please visit www.dermasciences.com .
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, words such as "may," "will," "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "could," "estimate" or "continue" are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that certain important factors may affect the Company's actual results and could cause such results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements that may be made in this news release or that are otherwise made by or on behalf of the Company. Factors that may affect the Company's results include, but are not limited to, product demand, market acceptance, impact of competitive products and prices, product development, including clinical trial results, completion of an acquisition, commercialization or technological difficulties, the success or failure of negotiations and trade, legal, social and economic risks. Additional factors that could cause or contribute to differences between the Company's actual results and forward-looking statements include but are not limited to, those discussed in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE: Derma Sciences, Inc.