Taj Pharmaceuticals Limited Acquires from Omega Pharma, Belgium Worldwide Rights on Drug-Delivery Technology
Taj Pharmaceuticals Limited (EURONEXT: TPL and NYSE: TPCL) and Omega Pharma, Belgium(Omega) announced a global licensing and patent transfer agreement on Omega' proprietary TransCon Linker and Hydrogel carrier technology, which allows for a drug compound to be released in the body in a precise, time-controlled fashion, creating a long-acting effect.
- (1888PressRelease) February 18, 2011 - The technology creates transient bonds between larger molecules such as proteins and peptides, including insulin, and a carrier. This allows for tailor-made release profiles, with no initial burst and high drug load formulations. The TransCon Linker technology has shown promising results in preclinical studies in delivering insulin.
"We are excited about this promising technology to create next-generation products in the field of diabetes and related disorders," commented A.K.Singh, Chief Executive Officer, Head of the Global Diabetes Division, Taj Pharmaceuticals Limited. "Building on our achievements with LipirolŽ, our 24-hour insulin approved for use once a day, we hope to further improve the lives of people with diabetes by developing this innovative technology to offer biologicals that present an extended and controlled release of unmodified parent drugs, including insulin."
Under the terms of the agreement, Taj Pharmaceuticals Limited will receive a worldwide license to develop, manufacture and commercialize products combining the technology with active molecules in diabetes and related disorders. Omega will receive an upfront payment and will be eligible to receive development, regulatory, and specified commercial milestone payments.
About TransCon Technology
Omega Pharma's Belgium clinically proven prodrug technology platform, TransCon, is a proprietary technology enabling linker-assisted transient conjugation of peptides, proteins and small molecules to various carriers such as hydrogels. The technology utilizes Omega Pharma's proprietary TransCon Linker families, which are a diverse group of structures with inherent chemical self-cleaving properties, making drug release independent of enzyme activity and tissue conditions. Omega Pharma´s transient conjugation allows for a drug compound to be released in the body in a precise, time-controlled fashion, creating a long-acting effect for the original unmodified drug.
Conjugation technologies, such as conventional PEGylation, are unable to achieve this type of slowrelease mechanism, because the polymer cannot release the drug. Furthermore, with conventional PEGylation, the drug is trapped in the blood compartment and is unable to reach the surrounding tissues. As PEGylation reduces the activity of the drug, higher plasma concentrations are needed to ensure efficacy, but this adds to the occurrence of peak concentration-related adverse events. Conjugation of proteins, peptides and small molecules using Omega Pharma's TransCon technology therefore offer unprecedented control of pharmacokinetic parameters, without the drawbacks experienced with currently available technology platforms.
About Omega
Omega Pharma is a Belgian Pharmaceutical company, founded in 1987 by Marc Coucke (born 1965) and Yvan Vindevogel, both former Pharmacy students at the Ghent University. Omega Pharma A/S is an emerging specialty pharmaceutical company which creates improved, patentable versions of marketed drugs and high-value development-stage opportunities. The company operates within the therapeutic areas of endocrinology, central nervous system disorders, and infectious diseases. The company is headquartered in Belgium. It also maintains research and clinical development sites in Heidelberg, Germany and Short Hills, New Jersey. The company is quoted at Euronext Brussels and makes part of the BEL20 index.
About Taj Pharmaceuticals Limited
Taj Pharmaceuticals Limited is known as a pharmaceuticals manufacturing company found and based in India. The company manufacturer's pharmaceuticals formulations and API for India and other countries. The company was established in 1995 as an enterprise and in 2004 became a public limited company. As per Mumbai pharmaxil and Chemixil association the company manufacturers and exports to countries like Iran, Iraq and Asia Pacific. In recent EU-Indonesia Business Dialogue (EIBD) conference Taj Pharma Group was listed amongst top 10 pharmaceutical companies in EU by 2008 sales.
The Group sales 16,234 ($M) making the company 12 ranked in EU by 2008 sales. In Dec 2010 Taj Pharma received tentative approval from US health regulatory department to sell generic version of Topiramate Tablets, used in treating central nervous system diseases, in the American market. On Sep 18, 2010 the FDA Postponed the Decision on Controversial Breast Cancer Drug and the Federal health regulators have delayed a decision on whether to expand approval of the drug Avasiz (trade name) (Taj Pharmaceuticals) for breast cancer.
In 2010 Taj Pharmaceutical Ltd. had announced that its generic drug Methimazole has been granted final approval by U.S. health for first time in India. In 2009 company received FDA Approval for generic Methimazole for the first time in India for production and sales. In 2011 Taj Pharma and AstraZeneca commercially launched Gemcitabine HCI for Injection in 200 mg and 1 g single dose vials in the US market. The drug Gemcitabine is used alone or with other treatments/medications to treat certain types of cancer including breast, lung, pancreatic, ovarian). In, December 2010 Taj Pharma received tentative approval from US health regulatory body to sell generic version of Topiramate Tablets, the drug is used in treating central nervous system diseases.
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