Xbrane announced the acquisition of Italian based Primm Pharma and the completion of a distribution deal for its lead biogeneric pharmaceutical Spherotide with the Iranian company Pooyesh Darou.
Primm Pharma is specialized in the development and production of pharmaceutical formulations for slow release injections and has a portfolio currently consisting of five slow release biogeneric candidates. The lead product Spherotide will primarily be used for the treatment of prostate cancer and endometriosis and will be available in emerging markets from mid 2017.
“Through the acquisition of Primm Pharma we are able to broaden our expertise within the field of High Demand Complex Generics. Primm Pharma has unique expertise in microsphere-based drugs and a lead product Spherotide that we believe will become the world’s first slow-release biogeneric for a sizable prostate cancer and endometriosis drug,” said Martin Åmark, CEO of Xbrane.
The Primm Pharma acquisition extends Xbrane’s current portfolio to eight development candidates. It reflects the company’s mission to bring affordable biogenerics and biosimilars to patients suffering from critical diseases in underserved markets. Xbrane estimates that the combined market for the original drugs of which the company’s portfolio of complex generics addresses is around USD10 billion and, as a first step, earlier this month signed an agreement with Pooyesh Darou for the introduction of Spherotide into the Middle East market. The deal brings Xbrane potential annual revenue of USD 10 million.
“We are delighted to have signed this agreement and to get the opportunity to work with Pooyesh Darou, one of the leading biotech companies in the Middle East. Pooyesh Darou has an impressive track record of reaching near full penetration in Iran on all introduced biogeneric products. Iran is a very interesting market with a population of 80 million, of which more than 90 percent are covered by the publicly-funded health care and we see it as an ideal first market for our high demand complex generics,” added Åmark.
