Hovione and Invion will partner on the development of Invion’s INV104 zafirlukast DPI for the treatment of asthma, the companies have announced. Hovione will provide the device as well as particle engineering, formulation, and manufacturing services; Invion will take responsibility for pre-clinical and clinical development as well as regulatory submissions. Hovione will have exclusive rights to manufacture the zafirlukast DPI if the product is commercialized, and Invion will pay a royalty on total net sales.
Invion acquired the rights to develop inhaled zafirlukast, a leukotriene receptor agonist, from Accolade Pharma in 2013. In early 2014, Invion and 3M Drug Delivery Systems announced that they would collaborate on development of zafirlukast as an MDI.
According to the announcement, the new partnership with Hovione has already led to “excellent progress towards a stable formulation” and “has overcome the major impediment to reformulation and development of INV104 by producing a formulation devoid of banned propellants.”
Invion CEO and Managing Director Greg Collier, said “This drug has already been administered to more than 4 million people to treat respiratory conditions. We are reformulating this compound for inhalation and remain confident that delivering this compound directly into the lung in this manner will provide superior benefit and bypass any problems associated with systemic delivery. Hovione is the right partner to help us capitalise on this highly promising commercial opportunity.”
Hovione Senior Director of Product Development and Licensing Carla Vozone added, “Hovione has built through the years a profound and unique skill set in APIs, particle engineering, formulation and devices, being able to approach inhalation development holistically. Hovione’s ability to manufacture all components of the drug product in the same location and solve problems within the same team accelerates development. Aligning Hovione’s knowledge in inhalation with Invion’s clinical expertise builds synergies for a winning proposition.”
Read the Invion and Hovione press release.
