MELBOURNE, Australia, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Xceed Biotechnology Limited (‘Xceed’) today announced that its subsidiary company, PolyNovo Biomaterials Pty Ltd (‘PolyNovo’) has signed a partnering and licensing agreement with Medtronic, Inc. (‘Medtronic’) for the development, supply and commercialization of PolyNovo’s NovoSorb(TM) for the prevention and treatment of cardiac and vascular disease, focusing on next generation stent products.
Biodegradable stents and stent coatings are forecasted by the medical device industry to be the next generation products that will supersede existing drug eluting stents. The stent market is currently estimated to be approximately US$4 billion per year and is predicted to grow to US$7 billion per year by 2010.
PolyNovo has entered into a number of comprehensive agreements with Medtronic including Development and Licensing, Investment, Supply and Convertible Note Agreements. The key commercial elements of the transaction are as follows:
1. Milestone payments based on achieving certain regulatory milestones and a royalty on sales of future licensed products brought to market by Medtronic. 2. Medtronic has agreed to subscribe up to US$2 million in equity in PolyNovo based on achieving certain clinical milestones. 3. Xceed will immediately invest A$3 million into PolyNovo increasing its shareholding to 60% with CSIRO holding the remaining 40%. 4. Xceed has been granted an option by PolyNovo to invest a further A$2 million at various prices for a two-year period. 5. Concurrently the Xceed investment into PolyNovo will trigger, CSIRO to assign all of its NovoSorb(TM) Intellectual Property to PolyNovo, which had previously been subject to an exclusive licence arrangement. 6. Medtronic has agreed to provide PolyNovo with a convertible loan facility of up to US$3 million. 7. The PolyNovo Employee Share Option Plan has been increased to a limit of 10% of the diluted capital of PolyNovo for shares issued pursuant to the above agreements, previously the limit had been 5% of the capital of the company.
Dr Ian Griffiths, Chief Executive Officer of PolyNovo Biomaterials, said “We are delighted by the successful conclusion to our negotiations, which have resulted in a major partnering deal. The relationship with Medtronic represents a significant step forward for PolyNovo and builds on the outstanding technical work that has already been undertaken. We are confident
that the future success of this collaboration will ensure NovoSorb(TM) plays a valuable role in the treatment of cardiovascular illness.”
In commenting on the successful conclusion to negotiations with Medtronic, David Kenley, Xceed’s Chief Executive Officer, said “PolyNovo has announced a world class deal by partnering with a company of the stature of Medtronic for the commercialization of NovoSorb(TM) in the field of cardiac and vascular disease. This transaction provides independent confirmation of the commercial value of PolyNovo’s NovoSorb(TM) intellectual property. We will continue to work closely with PolyNovo to realize the market potential of NovoSorb(TM) in other medical device applications including wound management, orthopaedics and cell delivery.”
A slide presentation, which provides content and background information on the therapy area covered by the Medtronic transaction is available upon request.
About Medtronic, Inc.
Medtronic is the world leader in medical technology providing lifelong solutions for people with chronic disease. The company offers products, therapies and services that enhance or extend the lives of millions of people. Each year, 5 million patients benefit from Medtronic’s technology, used to treat conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, neurological disorders, and vascular illnesses. Medtronic Vascular combines a host of expertise to offer state-of-the-art solutions for coronary vascular, peripheral vascular, endovascular, and neurovascular disease. For more information, please visit the company’s Web site at http://www.medtronic.com
About Xceed Biotechnology Limited
Xceed Biotechnology Limited is a biotechnology company based in Melbourne, Australia and is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange . Historically, Xceed has worked closely with CSIRO to successfully spin-off two companies focused on commercializing Australian technologies. These companies, Boron Molecular Pty Ltd (now 100% owned) and PolyNovo Biomaterials Pty Ltd (now a 50% partnership between Xceed and CSIRO) both commenced with exclusively licensed or assigned core technologies developed by CSIRO. Xceed’s primary focus is to provide PolyNovo and Boron with the resources necessary to ensure their technologies are successfully commercialised. For more information, please visit the company’s Web site at http://www.xceedbiotech.com
About PolyNovo Biomaterials Pty Ltd
PolyNovo’s technology is titled NovoSorb(TM) and is based on novel composition of matter and process patents invented within CSIRO’s Division of Molecular and Health Technologies.
PolyNovo is focused on commercializing NovoSorb(TM) to produce a range of medical polymers that can be safely broken down by the human body. NovoSorb(TM) offers flexibility that allows it to be formulated either as an injectable gel that can be cured in-situ or on demand or as a solid form product with the compressive strength similar to bone. Degradation time can be pre-set according to use and can range from as little as a few days to multiple years.
NovoSorb(TM) can be tailored to large world markets with potential applications in the areas of stents, orthopedics, orthodontics, drug delivery, wound care, tissue engineering, nerve regeneration and cartilage repair.
For more information, please visit the company’s Web site at http://www.polynovo.com Contacts: David Kenley Dr Ian Griffiths Chief Executive Officer Chief Executive Officer Xceed Biotechnology Limited PolyNovo Biomaterials Pty Ltd Tel: +61 3 9905 8257 Tel: +61 3 9905 8049 Mob: +61 (0)400151490 Mob: +61 (0)403180497
Xceed Biotechnology Limited
CONTACT: David Kenley, Chief Executive Officer, Xceed BiotechnologyLimited, Tel: +61-3-9905-8257, Mob: +61-400151490; or Dr Ian Griffiths,Chief Executive Officer of PolyNovo Biomaterials Pty Ltd, Tel:+61-3-9905-8049, Mob: +61-403180497
