SkyePharma And Astralis Enter Agreements For Promising New Treatment.(Brief Article)

2002 JAN 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- SkyePharma, Plc., and Astralis, Ltd., (ASTR) have signed several agreements concerning the formulation and development of Astralis' novel injectable vaccine therapy, Psoraxine, for the treatment of all forms of psoriasis.

Under the terms of a technology access agreement, SkyePharma will receive from Astralis a US$5 million license fee, which will be recognized as revenue over the lifetime of the contract, for access to DepoFoam and other relevant drug delivery technologies. In addition, through a service agreement, SkyePharma will provide all development, manufacturing, preclinical and clinical development services for second-generation Psoraxine, up to the completion of Phase II clinical studies. On completion of Phase II studies, Astralis will offer SkyePharma the option to acquire the worldwide licensing and distribution rights to Psoraxine. If SkyePharma does not take the option, Astralis will seek a marketing partner to fund Phase III clinical studies and to provide a sales and marketing infrastructure. It is anticipated that an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to start Phase I-B clinical studies will be filed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the first half of 2002.

In a separate transaction, SkyePharma will make a total equity investment in Astralis of up to US$20 million in convertible preferred shares, on payment for which SkyePharma will own 15.3% of Astralis. SkyePharma will make an initial investment of US$10 million on signature of the agreement. The remaining US$10 million investment will be paid at times and ...