ASHTON, England and NEW YORK, Nov. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ashton Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Inyx, Inc. , announced today that it has commenced production and initial deliveries for Merck Generics, on a formoterol Clickhaler, a dry powder inhaler developed by Innovata PLC and licensed by Merck for commercial marketing in Europe by its Respiratory business. Merck Generics is a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany.
Ashton Pharmaceuticals (formerly Celltech Manufacturing Services Limited, which Inyx acquired on August 31, 2005 and subsequently changed the company’s name), has been working with Innovata and Merck Generics on the development project to scale up and industrialize the Clickhaler, a multi-dose, dry-powder inhaler, to deliver formoterol and budesonide respiratory medicines. Formoterol is a long-acting beta agonist that is prescribed to relieve symptoms of asthma, and it is commonly taken with medications such as budesonide. Both formoterol and budesonide are also used for patients with COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).
Inyx said it expects to commence production of the budesonide Clickhaler for Merck Generics by this year-end.
Merck Generics has already secured marketing approvals for the budesonide Clickhaler and formoterol Clickhaler in a number of European markets. Further approvals in other major EU markets are anticipated in the coming months. Merck Generics is the world’s third-largest generics company after Novartis’ subsidiary Sandoz and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries of Israel.
Jack Kachkar, M.D., Chairman and CEO of Inyx, Inc., said, “This contract reflects the expanded development and production technology and expertise in dry powder inhalation delivery that Inyx now has as a result of our recent U.K. acquisition. This complements Inyx’s technology and expertise in metered dose inhalers as well as metered dose nasal and oral sprays.”
Inyx Pharma Limited, the company’s other wholly owned U.K.-based subsidiary, has a separate contract with Merck Generics to produce for worldwide markets a salbutamol metered dose inhaler using a non-ozone- depleting hydrofluoroalkane (HFA) propellant. Salbutamol (known as albuterol in the United States) is a short-acting bronchodilator that is the primary rescue medicine used to relieve asthma symptoms.
“We are very pleased to have two material contracts with Merck Generics,” said Dr. Kachkar.
About Inyx
Inyx, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company with niche drug delivery technologies and products for the treatment of respiratory, allergy, dermatological, topical and cardiovascular conditions. Inyx focuses its expertise on both prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceutical products, and provides specialty pharmaceutical development and production consulting services to the international healthcare market. In addition, Inyx is developing its own proprietary products to be marketed by selected clients and strategic partners, which include some of the largest pharmaceutical companies. The company’s operations are conducted through several wholly owned subsidiaries: Inyx USA, Ltd in Manati, Puerto Rico; Inyx Pharma Limited and Inyx Europe Limited, both near Manchester, England; and Inyx Canada, Inc. based in Toronto, provides business development and support services. Inyx, Inc.'s corporate offices are in New York City. For more information, please visit: http://www.inyxinc.com.
Safe Harbor
Statements about the Inyx’s future expectations, including future revenues and earnings, and all other statements in this press release other than historical facts, are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Inyx intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby. Since these statements involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, Inyx’s actual results could differ materially from expected results.
For more information, please contact: Jay M. Green, Executive Vice President Inyx, Inc. 212-838-1111 jgreen@inyxinc.com
Inyx, Inc.
CONTACT: Jay M. Green, Executive Vice President of Inyx, Inc.,+1-212-838-1111, jgreen@inyxinc.com
Web site: http://www.inyxinc.com//
