The discussions were announced this week in a US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing in which Unilife also confirmed it will cease investment in its “other product platforms.”
A Unilife spokesman confirmed the plan, telling us that: “The other product platforms are the remainder of our portfolio that are not wearable injectors - prefilled syringes, ocular delivery, etc. We will only focus on wearable injectors going forward.”
Hikma and Sanofi are among the firms that buy prefilled syringes from Unilife.
In the filing, Unilife said while it will no longer invest in non-wearables, it will retain associated intellectual property “in the event it becomes financially attractive for the company to further develop, customize, license or sell those products in the future.”
Strategy
Unilife announced its plan to focus on its wearables business in July as part of a wider cost reduction effort started in January.
The firm has wearable drug delivery technology deals with Amgen, Sanofi and MedImmune, the global biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca.
In 2015, AbbVie signed a strategic deal that granted it access to all of Unilife’s delivery technologies.
Unilife is due to hold a conference call on November 2 to update investors on its financial results and outlook.