NeuroVive signs agreement with Isomerase Therapeutics to develop and commercialize cyclophilin-inhibiting molecules

Jun 12 2013

NeuroVive Pharmaceutical AB (publ) (STO:NVP), a leading mitochondrial medicine company, has signed a collaboration agreement with Isomerase Therapeutics to develop the molecules that were recently acquired from Biotica. In addition, the company's Asian subsidiary has received the first milestone payment from Sihuan Pharmaceutical, the company's collaboration partner in China.

The collaboration agreement with Isomerase Therapeutics

NeuroVive has signed a collaboration agreement with the British firm Isomerase Therapeutics Ltd. for the product development and commercialization of the cyclophilin-inhibiting molecules that were recently acquired from Biotica Ltd. The collaboration will focus on cellular protection for traumatic brain injury and heart attack, as well as the new product NVP018/BC556 for antiviral indications. Isomerase Therapeutics was founded by three members of Biotica's former senior management team, including the former Chief Scientific Officer, who have experience working with the molecules acquired by NeuroVive earlier this year. Development work will begin during the summer.

The payment from Sihuan

NeuroVive's subsidiary NeuroVive Pharmaceutical Asia Ltd. has received the first milestone payment from Sihuan Pharmaceutical, the company's collaboration partner for the development and distribution of the products CicloMulsion® and NeuroSTAT® in the Chinese market. The payment shows that NeuroVive's strategy for the Chinese market is working according to plan. The work also continues on completing an application to the Chinese healthcare regulation agency (CFDA) for a clinical trial on CicloMulsion® in China. No financial details regarding the payment are being disclosed due to contractual confidentiality.

According to an existing collaboration agreement, NeuroVive's Chinese subsidiary NeuroVive Pharmaceutical Asia Ltd. is entitled to upfront and milestone payments from Sihuan regarding CicloMulsion® and NeuroSTAT totaling 35 million and 12 million yuan, respectively. Sihuan will also pay an annual royalty of 10 percent of the net profits for the two products during the first ten years after market approval.

NeuroVive's work in China is carried out through its subsidiary company NeuroVive Pharmaceutical Asia Ltd., co-owned by Foundation Asia Pacific Ltd. (FAP). FAP's owner share is 30 percent of the company, and in return NeuroVive is given access to marketing resources and a valuable business network, both of great importance to any foreign company working to establish business in China. The emphasis on positioning NeuroVive in the Chinese market is expected to accelerate during the coming years, and FAP will play a key role in this process. This first milestone payment will be used primarily for NeuroVive's Asian business.