Elan's NanoCrystal technology - one of the few elements in the business to be retained as the Irish form sold off assets to get rid of massive debts - is already winning partnerships among top tier drug companies. The new deal gives Roche the right to apply it to a number of proprietary drug candidates and, in return, Elan will receive development milestones and royalties on sales of any product incorporating the use of technology.
NanoCrystal is designed to improve the solubility of drugs by processing them into tiny nanoparticles - typically less than 1000 nanometers (nm) in diameter, which are produced by milling the drug substance using a proprietary wet milling technique. These are stabilised against agglomeration by surface adsorption of selected GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe) stabilisers - with the result that the drug present a much greater surface area for dissolution.
The result is an aqueous dispersion of the drug substance that behaves like a solution - a NanoCrystal colloidal dispersion which can be processed into finished dosage forms for all routes of administration.
Paul Breen, executive vice president, global services & operations at Elan, said the agreement: "highlights the robustness of the technology and the interest of pharmaceutical companies to use this technology.
Elan already has agreements in place with Johnson & Johnson for the technology, which formed the basis of a new solid-dose formulation of J&J's immunosuppressant drug Rapamune (sirolimus) in 2003.
Rapamune was previously available only as an oral solution in bottles or sachets. The oral solution requires refrigeration storage, and must be mixed with water or orange juice prior to administration.
Since then, the NanoCrystal technology has also reached the market in two dosage forms of Merck & Co's Emend (aprepitant), a drug used for the treatment of nausea and vomiting caused by cancer chemotherapy.