In November 2013, Novartis inked a deal with drug delivery firm Unilife for a customised device – consisting of syringe, needle, tubing, controller and pump – to be used in combination with one of its early stage pipeline drugs.
The Swiss Pharma Giant told this publication it has “made an extension to the current agreement with Unilife regarding the supply of a product used with an early-stage compound,” but refused to name the candidate or reveal additional terms of the agreement.
The candidate is, however, being delivered to a specific organ during an ongoing clinical drug trial in order to target a high prevalence disease where no pharmacological treatments are currently available, according to Unilife.
The firm’s General Manager of Ocular and Novel Delivery Systems Rick Beckman said the partnership “continues to progress favourably," and Unilife "looks forward to supporting Novartis in the advancement of this therapy, which requires a high-precision delivery system to enable its accurate administration to the target organ of the human body.”
$4.3m cost savings
In related news, Unilife has revealed in an SEC filing it will cut operation costs by approximately $4.3m, following the implementation of a workforce reduction plan unveiled last week.
Around 50 jobs, or 17%, of the total workforce will be lost as Unilife says it has now completed its product portfolio and is moving away from the R&D phase to a commercial outlook.
Operating expenses for the full year ending June 30 2015 were $94m, up 41% year-on-year.