Hamilton, Bermuda--(Marketwire - January 9, 2008) -
Celtic Pharmaceutical Holdings and Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals Forge
Collaboration to Deliver Improved Therapies to Patients with Hemophilia B
New York, London, Bermuda, 09 January 2008 - Celtic Pharmaceutical
Holdings L.P. ("Celtic Pharma") and Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.
("Inspiration") announced today that they have agreed to enter into a
collaboration intended to enhance the development of Inspiration's Factor
IX for the treatment of Hemophilia B. Hemophilia B, the second most
common type of hemophilia and a $650 million global market today, is
largely an inherited disorder in which Factor IX, one of the proteins
needed to form blood clots, is missing or reduced. Inspiration's
development program is aimed at bringing more affordable, safe and
effective therapeutic options to Hemophilia B patients and potentially
providing treatment options that are less disruptive to their daily lives.
Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, valued at up to $35
million, Celtic will take an equity stake in Inspiration as well as
provide clinical development expertise and funding for Inspiration's lead
Factor IX product, which is scheduled to enter Phase I safety,
pharmacokinetics and efficacy studies in 2008. A second generation
product, which Celtic and Inspiration aim to introduce into clinical
development in 2009, will expand the portfolio by potentially offering
improved potency, and longer duration of action to reduce the frequency
of injections in prophylactic use. Prophylaxis is well established to be
medically preferable for avoiding cumulative and permanent damage from
bleeding incidents while significantly reducing the disruption to the
patients' daily lives.
"Celtic Pharma has the capabilities and resources, and has now made the
commitment, to bring these important potential therapeutic options to
market as rapidly as possible in collaboration with our new partners at
Inspiration," commented Stephen Evans-Freke, Co-Managing General Partner
of Celtic Pharma. "The market for Factor IX products has been growing
historically at double digit rates and although medical practice has been
shifting from on-demand to prophylactic usage, it remains a much
underserved patient population. With the existing patents on the current
recombinant product expiring in 2011, the opportunity exists to bring
important therapeutic advances to market in this field, and we look
forward to doing so with Inspiration."
"With the signing up of this exciting investment, we have completed the
commitment of capital in Celtic Pharmaceutical Holdings L.P. Our equity
investment in Inspiration also provides further diversification to our
portfolio both through first and second generation Factor IX programs and
through wider exposure to the success of Inspiration and its other
hemophilia-related programs," commented John Mayo, Co-Managing General
Partner of Celtic Pharma.
"We have chosen Celtic as a partner at this stage of our business model
because of their ability to offer development expertise as well as
capital. This will allow Inspiration to continue to pursue strategic
partnerships for Factor IX as well as the other products Inspiration has
in development," said John Taylor, Co-Founder and Chairman of Inspiration
Biopharmaceuticals.
About Celtic Pharmaceutical Holdings L.P.
Celtic Pharmaceutical Holdings L.P. ("Celtic Pharma") is a global private
equity investment firm focused on the biotechnology and pharmaceutical
industries. Celtic Pharma was founded by Stephen Evans-Freke and John
Mayo, CBE and is based in Bermuda, with offices in New York and London.
Celtic Pharma acquires and invests in late stage pharmaceutical programs
and manages these programs through their development to regulatory
approval. Celtic Pharma's aim is to bridge the gap between the
established pharmaceutical companies' new product pipeline crisis and the
biotech industry's capital drought. For further information, please
visit Celtic Pharma's website at
www.celticpharma.com
Enquiries:
Celtic Pharma Kathy Armstrong
Tel: +1 (212) 616-4042
kathy@celticpharma.com
Media Contacts:
FD US: Jonathan Birt UK: David Yates /
Emma Thompson
Tel: +1 (212) 850-5634 Tel: +44 (0) 207 831 3113
jonathan.birt@fd.com david.yates@fd.com
About Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals
Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals, founded in 2004, is developing treatments
for hemophilia that have the potential to broaden patient access to
therapy, including prophylactic use. Greater access and more frequent,
prophylactic therapy have been shown to reduce complications of the
disease and enhance patients' long-term health and quality of life.
Underlying the Company's programs is a novel, proprietary manufacturing
technology that allows a greater yield of high-quality protein at a
significantly lower cost than is currently available. Inspiration is
utilizing this technology to develop a portfolio of hemophilia and
bleeding disorder products that address a $5 billion market worldwide.
Inspiration's lead product candidate, an intravenous recombinant Factor
IX, has completed preclinical testing and is poised to enter Phase I/II
clinical studies in the United States. For further information please
visit the company's website at
www.InspirationBio.com.
Enquiries:
Inspiration Alison Arter
Tel: + (919) 929-3477
aarter@inspirationbio.com
Media Contacts:
Burns-McClellan Kathy Nugent Justin Jackson
Tel: +1 (212) 213-0006 Tel: +1 (212) 213-0006
knugent@burnsmc.com jjackson@burnsmc.com
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange