Scotland-based specialty pharmaceuticals group ProStrakan has signed a licence and supply agreement with Torrex Chiesi Pharma for the sale of its post-operative nausea and vomiting treatment Xomolix in central and eastern Europe and Austria.
Under the terms of the agreement, the Galashields-based firm said it will exclusively supply Xomolix (droperidol) to Torrex, a Vienna-based subsidiary of Italy’s Chiesi, for 10 years and will receive an undisclosed royalty rate. ProStrakan already markets Xomolix in eight European countries, including France, the Netherlands and Portugal, with sales of £4.2 million in 2007.
Earlier this year, the company was granted marketing authorisations in eight other European countries, including the major markets of Germany and the UK. Chief executive Wilson Totten, said the deal reflects the firm’s strategy of outlicensing treatments in parts of the world that are non-core for ProStrakan “to fully capitalise on the value of these products”.
The deal was announced just after ProStrakan issued its interim management statement which shows that revenues in the first four months of the year were at “the upper end of management’s expectations”. Revenues increased 38% over the like, year-earlier period, driven by Rectogesic (glyceryl trinitate), an ointment for chronic anal fissures, Tostran (testosterone gel) and Xomolix.
The company also announced that it intends to refile Tostran with the US Food and Drug Administration, under the brand-name Fortigel in the third quarter. It added that the agency postponed its action date for Sancuso (granisetron), a transdermal patch for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting from early May to mid-June but that was due to “the well-publicised resourcing issues being experienced by FDA”. ProStrakan says it continues to plan for the US launch of Sancuso in the second half.
