UPPSALA, SWEDEN – LIDDS AB (publ) has signed a license agreement for Liproca® Depot with Jiangsu Ambition Medical, a Chinese pharmaceutical company specializing in global collaborations and in-licensing. Liproca® Depot is LIDDS injectable cancer drug candidate for local treatment of prostate cancer. LIDDS is receiving a signing fee exceeding USD 1 million followed by milestone payments and royalty. A phase III clinical trial will be conducted in China and will be fully financed by the licensee.
The strategic cooperation between Jiangsu Ambition Medical and LIDDS is expected to result in market approval for Liproca® Depot in China as the first country in the world. Jiangsu Ambition Medical originates from Jiminkexin Group which ranks as one of the top 10 pharma companies in China. Jiangsu Ambition Medical has also expressed a strong interest for other drugs formulated in the NanoZolid® technology platform.
LIDDS is very pleased to enter into the license agreement with Jiangsu Ambition Medical which has the highly regarded expertise to perform necessary clinical trials, and also an impressive sales organization to manage a future launch of Liproca® Depot. The agreement is also a clear recognition of the international interest for the NanoZolid® technology and Liproca® Depot as treatment for prostate cancer, says Monica Wallter, CEO of LIDDS.
The prostate cancer market is substantial in China with around 500 000 patients being diagnosed annually. Oncology is a focus area at Jiangsu Ambition Medical and the company expects that the sales of Liproca® Depot will reach yearly sales of 50 000 to70 000 treatments in 3 to 5 years after launch.
Jiangsu Ambition Medical views NanoZolid® technology and specifically the Liproca® Depot product as a very promising treatment for prostate cancer, a disease that is also very common in China. We are very happy to enter the agreement with LIDDS and will immediately start to prepare for conducting the Liproca® Depot clinical trial in China. We hope to extend the partnership and get other products based on the NanoZolid® technology into our pipeline, says Mr. Mark Dai, CEO of Jiangsu Ambition Medical.
Jiangsu Ambition Medical has its own regulatory and clinical departments and a highly recognized marketing and sales organization. Being deeply connected with the Chinese regulatory authorities and key clinical opinion leaders, their sales network covers 1,130 large scale public hospitals and an additional 4,592 hospitals in China. The sales team has launched four different drug products with an annual revenue of more than RMB 1.5 billion each and three drug products with revenues of RMB 1 billion respectively. LIDDS and Jiangsu Ambition Medical will work together to optimise the time to market for launching Liproca® Depot in China.
Expected implications for LIDDS shareholders;
milestone payments will benefit the companys cash flow,
future royalty payments will increase the shareholder value, and
a Chinese partner that is capable to fastly take onboard additional projects based on the NanoZolid® technology
The full financial details of the agreement will not be disclosed due to confidentiality clauses. Further on, future licensing negotiations with other external parties could be affected of such information.
For more information, please contact:
Monica Wallter, CEO LIDDS, +46 (0)737 07 09 22, monica.wallter@liddspharma.com
LIDDS is required to disclose the information in this press release under the European Union’s Market Abuse Regulation and the Securities Market Act. The information was submitted through the agency of the aforementioned contact person for publication on 16 May 2018 at 14.40 CET.
About LIDDS
LIDDS AB (publ) develops effective medications for cancer and other diseases with the patented NanoZolid® technology. NanoZolid releases the medication locally and efficiently, which means significantly fewer side effects and treatments compared with systemic treatment. NanoZolid technology allows for the controlled, long-term and adjusted release of the medication for up to six months. NanoZolid can be combined with both large and small pharmaceutical molecules. The company’s most advanced project is the prostate cancer product Liproca® Depot, which contains 2-hydroxyflutamide, which confirms that the technology has a documented clinical effect. The prostate cancer project is currently in Phase IIb. Industrial-scale production is taking place in collaboration with Recipharm. LIDDS has active development projects where NanoZolid is combined with antiandrogens, cytostatics and immunoactive agents. LIDDS shares are listed on Nasdaq First North. Redeye AB is a certified adviser to LIDDS. For more information, go to www.liddspharma.com.
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