West Pharma completes drug delivery sale
delivery operations to Archimedes Pharma, a newly formed UK company
backed by private equity house Warburg Pincus.
The move will allow West Pharma to focus on its core activities in closure systems and syringe components for use with injectable drugs, although the company said it continue to operate its clinical services business, which is being held for sale or other disposition.
When it announcd the sale, West Pharma said that continuing its investment in the loss-making drug delivery business would prevent it from making the most of its pharmaceutical systems business, currently accounting for 98 per cent of the firm's turnover.
West Pharma's nasal drug delivery technologies include ChiSys, a proprietary chitosan-based technology for liquids or powders that increases the residence time of drugs on mucosal surfaces and may improve bioavailability, and pectin-based technology designed to overcome the dose 'spiking' problems that can occur with other intranasal formulations.
In return for the drug delivery activities, West $7.1 million cash, approximately 14 per cent of the stock of Archimedes Pharma, and a royalty interest in certain of the UK firm's revenues.
An in-depth view of Archimedes and it plans for the drug delivery business will be published in the 14 February edition of In-PharmaTechnologist.com's newsletter.
