The new cardiovascular drug being developed by Pozen (NASDAQ:POZN) does not yet even have a name, but it now has a manufacturer to produce it once it secures U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval.
The Chapel Hill, North Carolina pharmaceutical company has reached a supply agreement with contract drug manufacturer Patheon (TSX:PTI), according to securities filings. Patheon, headquartered in Research Triangle Park, will manufacture a percentage of the drug needed for sale in the United States. The compound, still called PA32540, is in phase 3 clinical trials. The combination drug pairs aspirin with omeprazole, which will help deliver the health benefits of aspirin in a way that reduces aspirin’s risk of causing ulcers.
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Pozen has said that it wants to find a partner to help commercialize PA32450. The company has brought two other products to market in partnership with large pharmaceutical companies. Migraine headache treatment Treximet is marketed by GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK); arthritis drug Vimovo is marketed by AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN).
The Patheon supply agreement signals that the company is getting ready to go it alone if it must. The company last month reached an agreement that gives future U.S. Treximet royalty rights to Canadian pension fund CPPIB Credit Investment for $75 million. Pozen CEO John Platchetka later said that the money will be used for PA32450. Pozen is still looking for a drug partner but it has the cash to develop the PA32450 if necessary and it raised the money in a way that doesn’t dilute the company’s existing shareholders.
The supply agreement with Patheon is for four years starting from the time manufacturing of the drug starts. It will renew for two-year periods unless terminated by either party. Specific financial terms were not disclosed. But Pozen will need to pay for equipment specific to PA32540’s manufacturing, which the company expects will be less than $150,000. If more equipment and facility modifications are needed, Pozen could pay up to $2.5 million total. Patheon does not do any of its contract manufacturing in North Carolina. Its U.S. contract manufacturing operations are in Cincinnati, Ohio and Puerto Rico.
