Hovione to make CyDex’ Captisol through to 2019
Capsitol, a modified form of cyclodextrin designed to boost drug bioavailablity, is employed in five products approved in the US, including Pfizer’s antipsychotic medication Geodon (ziprasidone).
Hovione has made the compound on CyDex’ behalf for almost a decade, and has been collaborating on the development of captisol-based formulations of late lifecycle and off patent drugs since 2004.
Commenting on the new deal, CyDex CEO Theron Odlaug, said: “This arrangement is an important step forward as we develop and commericalize pharmaceuticals and therapies using our differentiated cyclodextrin technology.”
He added that “The extension of our relationship with Hovione through 2019 provides assurance for current and future CyDex strategic partners that they will continue to have uninterrupted access to high-quality captisol.”
While CyDex did not go into details on its “strategic partners,” previous statements indicate that it is working on projects with many of the leading pharmaceutical players worldwide, including Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck & Co and Daichii.
CyDex is also developing its own products. In July, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted a captisol-enabled version of GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) Alkeran (melphalan) chemotherapy for review.
Impending patent loss for a number of drugs is only likely to increase demand for enhancement technologies like captisol as companies try to differentiate their products from the glut of generics that are expected to enter the market.
