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GARUFI revoit à la hausse du naproxcinod 2milliards
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NicOx expects naproxcinod agreement by summer 2009
Reuters Health - Sep. 30, 2008
* NicOx in talks with several companies on naproxcinod U.S. partnership agreement
* Naproxcinod deal could be reached by summer 2009 or before
* NicOx looking for deal that gives access to other drugs * NicOx not in talks with Pfizer on naproxcinod
* NicOx looking for drugs or other companies in U.S. to turn itself into a pharmaceutical group
By Caroline Jacobs
NicOx is in talks with several candidates to help sell its yet-to-be-approved arthritis drug naproxcinod in the United States and a deal could be reached next summer or earlier, the French biotech said on Tuesday.
"We prefer a partner that will help NicOx in setting up as a pharmaceutical company in the U.S., through cross licensing or co-promotion of their products," Chief Executive Michele Garufi told Reuters in an interview.
"It is my intention to build around naproxcinod a portfolio of products."
NicOx is preparing for the possible launch of its potential blockbuster drug in 2010.
It aims to submit naproxcinod -- to be its first drug on the market and sole branded rival to Pfizer's Celebrex -- for U.S. marketing approval by mid-2009 and a few months later for European approval.
Key for NicOx is that its future partner has a strong sales force in the United States, the world's biggest drug market.
NicOx also plans to hire sales representatives and is looking to complement its drug pipeline with niche products that can be sold to the same specialists who are to prescribe naproxcinod in the United States.
"One of the main activities of our business development people is to look for alternative compounds or companies to acquire to complement our portfolio," Garufi said. "I would like to implement this in 2009 in the U.S."
Even amid the current global financial turmoil, NicOx would not let an opportunity pass. "If we find a good opportunity we should seriously consider it to build up a great NicOx," Garufi said. "We are talking with the banks, in principle, on what to do."
Naproxcinod seeks to treat arthritis in the knee and hip while protecting the stomach and keeping blood pressure under control or lowering it. That would give it a competitive edge over other anti-inflammatory drugs linked to heart problems and stomach ulcers and therefore could, Garufi said, yield sales of some $2 billion, the same level as Pfizer's Celebrex.
Garufi declined to say with how many partners the company was in serious discussions other than that NicOx was not in talks with Pfizer on naproxcinod and that it tended "not to go our existing partners, they would own all our assets".
NicOx, which has a market capitalisation of around 380 million euros, expects to announce further clinical trial results on naproxcinod in the hip and one study on its effect on blood pressure by the end of this year.
"I have no doubt that if data continue to be positive, we will have a very good partnership for the compound, no doubt at all," Garufi said.
As a minimum prerequisite, its future partner should have a strong sales force in the United States.
NicOx expects to derive a large part of potential revenues and benefits from the world's biggest drug market.
"I am looking for a company that may help give us products in exchange rather than money... I consider that to be much more valuable than the money."
Naproxcinod's patent protection expires in 2014, Garufi said, but the company expects to get an extension in the United States of almost 5 years.
NicOx shares fell 0.6 percent to 7.97 euros by 0937 GMT, taking losses to 28 percent this year.
Boursier.com