DANBURY, Conn., March 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Penwest Pharmaceuticals Co. announced today that it has signed a collaboration agreement with Pharmaceutics International Inc. (PII) under which PII has agreed to conduct formulation work for Penwest and third parties for drugs using Penwest’s proprietary oral drug delivery technologies, TIMERx(R), Geminex(R) and Syncrodose(TM). This agreement represents an expansion of Penwest’s technology licensing strategy, which the Company expects will provide Penwest with additional collaboration opportunities while allowing it to maintain its internal focus on developing products for disorders of the nervous system.
The strategic goal of this collaboration is to continue to leverage the Company’s established drug delivery expertise while supporting Penwest’s transition to a specialty pharmaceutical company. Under the agreement, PII may conduct formulation work for drugs being developed by either Penwest or third parties which license Penwest’s drug delivery technologies.
PII may also independently identify new product development opportunities for this collaboration. Under the collaboration, Penwest and PII have agreed to jointly review opportunities for licensing Penwest’s oral drug delivery technologies to third parties and may conduct the formulation work for such third parties provided that these programs do not conflict with Penwest’s internal programs. PII has agreed to assume primary responsibility for formulation development with technical guidance and oversight from Penwest and may assume responsibility for clinical trial material manufacturing and commercial manufacturing.
Jennifer Good, Penwest’s President and CEO said, “We are pleased to enter into this collaboration with PII. Since the approval and launch of Opana(R) ER, we have received inquiries from a number of parties regarding licensing our drug development technologies, which we believe confirms that the core TIMERx technologies remain attractive to companies pursuing brand management strategies for their own products. We believe this new agreement leverages the value of our drug delivery technologies while allowing us to continue to focus on building our own pipeline. We look forward to working with PII to grow this part of our business.”
Penwest Pharmaceuticals
Penwest is a specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to bringing to the marketplace innovative products that help improve the lives of patients. The Company’s goal is to identify, develop and commercialize prescription products that address unmet medical needs, primarily for diseases of the nervous system. At the core of this strategy, Penwest applies drug delivery technologies, including its own proprietary technologies, to new and existing compounds to enhance their therapeutic profiles. The launch by Endo Pharmaceuticals in mid-2006 of Opana(R) ER (oxymorphone hydrochloride extended-release tablets) formulated with the Company’s TIMERx(R) extended release delivery technology demonstrates the execution of this strategy and the value of the Company’s TIMERx technology. The Company is currently applying its expertise to a pipeline of potential products that are in various stages of development. The Company intends to commercialize these products independently or through third party alliances.
The matters discussed herein contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause Penwest’s actual results in future periods to be materially different from any future performance suggested herein. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words, “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” “intends,” “potential,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause results to differ materially include: uncertainty of success of collaborations; including the collaboration with PII including the risk that such collaboration does not result in new licensing opportunities; risks relating to the commercial success of our products; regulatory risks relating to drugs in development, including the timing and outcome of regulatory action; the timing of clinical trials and whether the results of clinical trials will warrant further clinical trials or warrant submission of an application for regulatory approval of, or the regulatory approval of, the product that is the subject of the trial; actual and potential competition; the need for capital; and other risks as set forth under the caption Risk Factors in Penwest’s Annual Report on Form 10-k filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 16, 2007, which risk factors are incorporated herein by reference.
The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date of the statement made. Penwest disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
Contacts: Investors: Media: Diane D’Alessandro Caroline Gentile/Laura Walters (203) 796-3706 Kekst and Company (877) 736-9378 (212) 521-4800
Penwest Pharmaceuticals Co.
CONTACT: Investors: Diane D’Alessandro, Penwest Pharmaceuticals Co.,+1-203-796-3706, 1-877-736-9378; or Media: Caroline Gentile or LauraWalters, both of Kekst and Company, +1-212-521-4800, for PenwestPharmaceuticals Co.
