Vaccine intradermal delivery developer NanoPass Technologies Ltd. has licensed its MicronJet microneedle intradermal delivery device to Britain's Circassia Ltd., a specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on allergy and autoimmune diseases. Circassia will use the Micronjet for its cat, ragweed allergy, and other therapies for which it will begin Phase III clinical trials in 2012.
Sources inform ''Globes'' that if the clinical trials succeed, and the products reach market, NanoPass will receive millions of dollars in royalties a year.
This is NanoPass's first commercial contract for its MicronJet product, although it has initial cooperation agreements with ten companies, which could result in large licensing agreements.
NanoPass was founded in 2000 by Dr. Shuki Yeshurun of the Technion Israel Institute of Technology at Ofer Hi Tech Ltd's incubator Naiot Venture Accelerator. Other investors include Viola Private Equity unit D Partners, WFD Ventures, and Elcam Medical Ltd. of Kibbutz Baram, which jointly manufactures the MicronJet. The company has raised $12 million to date. WFD Ventures, founded by former Johnson & Johnson executive William Doyle, has also invested in Novocure Ltd.
NanoPass CEO Dr. Yotam Levin said, "We see a significant fit between the device we've developed and Circassia's patients' needs. Along with the regulatory approvals we have recently obtained from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency (EMEA), and other regulatory bodies, securing a promising late-stage client is a key component towards full commercialization of our product."
Circassia vice chairman Charles Swingland said, "We plan to make MicronJet a valuable component of our product offerings, as it provides consistent and easy to use delivery to our target location, the skin. We intend to use the device for many of our allergy programs and have received extremely positive feedback from patients and clinicians."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 18, 2011
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