Zogenix, a pharmaceutical company commercializing and developing products for the treatment of central nervous system disorders and pain, and Battelle, the world’s largest independent research and development organization, completed their previously announced synergistic agreement to further cultivate out-licensing opportunities and development of Zogenix’s DosePro® drug delivery technology. Battelle and Zogenix will work together to market DosePro technology hoping to license the system to pharmaceutical clients who seek to enhance the use of innovative therapeutics by combining them with DosePro’s proprietary needle-free delivery system.
DosePro technology provides pre-filled, single-use, disposable, needle-free drug delivery. This method for drug delivery offers significant increases in safety and convenience for the patient over existing needle-based injection delivery systems. In addition to providing an improved experience for the patient, DosePro may also provide an avenue to overcome major roadblocks in the delivery of viscous drug formulations, such as high concentration biologics, which cannot be delivered with current needle-based injection technology.
The intellectual property incorporated into DosePro drug delivery technology is covered through 2026 by more than 46 internationally issued patents, and Zogenix has already received approval for, in the United States and Europe, and produced over 1.5 million units of SUMAVEL® DosePro®, the company’s migraine therapy. Feedback from patients has shown that patients desire to switch from oral to injectable delivery if given the option of using DosePro technology, even though needle-based delivery has been an option for over 10 years.
John Turanin, Vice President and General Manager, DosePro Technology, at Zogenix, states, “Battelle has a strong reputation for product development that has earned them a ‘who’s who’ client list in the pharmaceutical industry. Collaborating on DosePro provides additional support of our technology and the backing of a significant technical business partner. We expect the out-licensing effort to accelerate now that we are working with Battelle. We have already trained their business development team and are expanding laboratory capabilities to begin working on DosePro product candidates.”
Barbara Kunz, President of Battelle Health and Life Sciences Global Business, said, “This collaboration enables Battelle to expand our platform of innovative drug delivery solutions to our pharmaceutical customers. We believe DosePro will be able to assist our clients with addressing many of the challenges they face today, in particular, the delivery of highly viscous drug formulations.”
The marketing strategy employed by Battelle for the DosePro technology involves reaching potential customers through strategic product planning meetings, at conferences, in trade publications, and through other marketing communications. There is a joint effort between the technical teams from both companies to establish a center of excellence for DosePro technology development and testing. Another feature of this agreement is Battelle’s option to jointly develop and commercialize an iteration of DosePro technology with Zogenix. This next step in DosePro technology delivers a larger, 1.2mL, dose as opposed to the current dose size of 0.5mL.
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