REPEAT/Alkermes and Janssen collaborate for new products; Agreement based on Medisorb drug delivery technology.CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 29, 1996--Alkermes, Inc. (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :ALKS ALKS Alkermes, Inc. (stock symbol) ) today announced that it had agreed with Janssen Pharmaceutical to continue the development of an injectable in·ject·a·ble adj. Capable of being injected. Used of a drug. n. A drug or medicine that can be injected. sustained release Sustained-release (SR), extended-release (ER, XR, or XL), time-release or timed-release, controlled-release (CR), or continuous-release (CR or Contin formulation for a Janssen proprietary product. This formulation is based on the Medisorb drug delivery technology, which was acquired in March 1996 in Alkermes' acquisition of technology and assets of Medisorb Technologies International, L.P. Alkermes' Medisorb drug delivery system enables the creation of injectable sustained release formulations of traditional small-molecule pharmaceutical compounds by encapsulating them in microspheres made of common medical polymers. The Medisorb drug delivery system complements Alkermes' ProLease drug delivery system, which provides injectable sustained release of larger, complex biotechnology compounds currently administered by frequent injection. Alkermes has entered into collaborations for ProLease product candidates with pharmaceutical companies including Genentech and Schering-Plough. Sustained release formulations of drugs are designed to provide significant cost, safety and/or efficacy benefits to patients and physicians by enabling single injections to last for days to weeks. Pursuant to the agreement, Janssen is currently funding Alkermes' manufacturing of supplies of a new product candidate for clinical trials which are expected to begin in the current quarter. Janssen has worldwide rights to products resulting from the collaboration, subject to royalty payments to Alkermes. Other terms were not disclosed. "Our strategy for Alkermes' Medisorb technology is to enter into a series of funded product development collaborations with major partners like Janssen," said Richard F. Pops, Chief Executive Officer of Alkermes. "With Janssen, we have the potential to develop important new pharmaceutical products -- the first of which is now entering clinical trials. In the short term, collaborations of this nature help to fund Alkermes' research and manufacturing operations Manufacturing operations concern the operation of a facility, as opposed to maintenance, supply and distribution, health, and safety, emergency response, human resources, security, information technology and other infrastructural support organizations. ." Alkermes is a leader in the development of products based on sophisticated drug delivery technologies. Alkermes' focus is on two important drug delivery opportunities: (1) controlled, sustained release of injectable drugs lasting several days to several weeks; and (2) the delivery of drugs into the brain past the blood-brain barrier blood-brain barrier n. Abbr. BBB A physiological mechanism that alters the permeability of brain capillaries so that some substances, such as certain drugs, are prevented from entering brain tissue, while other substances are allowed to . In addition to its Cambridge, Massachusetts This article is about the city of Cambridge in Massachusetts. For the English university town, see Cambridge, England. For other places, see Cambridge (disambiguation). Cambridge, Massachusetts is a city in the Greater Boston area of Massachusetts, United States. headquarters, Alkermes operates a manufacturing facility in Ohio and a medical affairs office in Cambridge, England. CONTACT: Alkermes Inc. Richard F. Pops Chief Executive Officer 617/494-0171 or Press Relations: Thomas A. Pearson Pearson Communications 610/995-9730 or Investor Relations Investor relations The process by which the corporation communicates with its investors. : Reagan Codner Burns McClellan 212/505-1919 |
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