Business

Prosonix and Imperial College London have signed an agreement to collaborate on development of inhaled therapies based on multi-component particles (MCPs) manufactured using Prosonix's proprietary particle engineering technology. The company will coordinate with Dr. Omar Usmani of the college's National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI) to perform in vivo and in vitro … [Read more...] about Prosonix and Imperial College London to collaborate on inhaled drugs

According to Insmed Incorporated, the company has entered into a loan agreement with Hercules Technology Growth Capital that will allow it to access up to $20 million for continued development of Arikace inhaled liposomal amikacin. Hercules received a warrant to purchase 329,932 shares of Insmed common stock at $2.94 per share as part of the agreement. Insmed … [Read more...] about Insmed gets $20 million loan

GlaxoSmithKline has acquired rights to several inhaled drug candidates manufactured using Liquidia Technologies' PRINT (Particle Replication In Non-Wetting Templates) platform. The PRINT nanofabrication technology produces particles with narrow size distribution and any desired shape. According to Liquidia, the total value of the deal, including an upfront payment, … [Read more...] about GSK gets rights to certain Liquidia Technologies inhalation candidates

Particle design and dry powder inhalation specialist Hovione has announced that sales for the fiscal year that ended in March, 2012 increased to $180 million,a 24% increase over the previous year. In addition to inhalation formulation development and manufacturing, the company also licenses its proprietary dry powder inhalers. Hovione CFO Miguel Calado commented, … [Read more...] about Hovione sales up 24%

MicroDose Therapeutx and Moerae Matrix have agreed to collaborate on development of a dry powder inhaler, using MicroDose DPI technology to deliver Moerae’s MMI-0100 MK2 inhibitor for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). There are no treatments for IPF currently approved in the US. According to the companies, "MMI-0100 is a selective inhibitor of … [Read more...] about MicroDose Therapeutx and Moerae Matrix to collaborate on inhaled MK2 inhibitor

According to Bloomberg News, Merck plans to appeal a ruling by Judge Peter Sheridan of the US District Court for the District of New Jersey that Merck failed to prove its allegation that Apotex infringed on its Nasonex patent. At the same time, the judge upheld the validity of the patent, which Apotex had challenged. Apotex filed an ANDA for mometasone nasal … [Read more...] about Judge rules for Apotex in Merck’s Nasonex patent infringement suit

Rigel Pharmaceuticals has granted AstraZeneca an exclusive worldwide license for development and commercialization of its R256 inhaled JAK inhibitor for the treatment for moderate to severe asthma. The deal includes an upfront payment of $1 million with a potential $8.25 million in milestone payments by the end of next year; according to the two companies, the total … [Read more...] about Rigel licenses inhaled JAK inhibitor to AstraZeneca

A new report from Transparency Market Research titled "Asthma and COPD Drug Market - Global Industry Analysis, Market Size, Share, Trends, Growth and Forecasts, 2010 - 2017" predicts an increase in the asthma and COPD drug market from ~25 billion in 2010 to ~27 billion in 2017. The report suggests that price erosion and the expiration of patents with few novel drugs … [Read more...] about Analyst predicts slight increase in asthma and COPD drug market over next five years

Impel NeuroPharma says that a study has shown that its Pressurized Olfactory Device (POD) was preferred 2 to 1 by testers compared to conventional nasal sprays. POD delivers aerosolized drug, both liquid and powder formulations, to the upper nasal cavity, allowing delivery of therapeutics across the blood-brain barrier, according to Impel. The company says that it … [Read more...] about Impel NeuroPharma announces advances in development of pressurized olfactory device

Consort Medical has announced record revenue and profits for the year ending April 30, 2012, including a 12% increase in revenue for its Bespak division, which manufactures metered dose inhaler valves and actuators as well as dry powder inhalers. Bespak's operating profit also grew by 17%. According to Consort, the growth in Bespak revenue came about in part due to … [Read more...] about Bespak MDI valve sales up 12%