Pharmalink negotiated an exclusive global license to formulate its lead corticosteroid candidate Nefecon® using Archimedes Pharma’s TARGIT® gastrointestinal drug delivery technology. Nefecon is in mid-late stage trials for the treatment of IgA nephropathy, and to date has been codeveloped with Archimedes using the latter’s enteric delivery platform.
The firms initiated their codevelopment program for Nefecon in 2004, but the new licensing agreement means that Pharmalink will assume full control and responsibility for further development of the drug. Archimedes will receive an up-front payment, and royalties on future sales of Nefecon. The firm also retains all rights to the TARGIT platform for non-Nefecon applications. An open-label Phase II study with Nefecon has been successfully completed in Sweden, and Pharmalink says pivotal studies are being planned.
“Our collaboration with Archimedes delivered very strong progress, and having secured an exclusive license to TARGIT we look forward to continuing to drive the development of Nefecon,” comments Johan Haggblad, Pharmalink MD.