SurModics and Brookwood License Nanotechnology Drug
Delivery System
EDEN PRAIRIE,
Minnesota, July 14, 2008: SurModics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SRDX), a leading provider of surface modification
and drug delivery technologies to the healthcare industry, announced today
that its Brookwood Pharmaceuticals subsidiary has
licensed lipid nanoparticle technology from PharmaSol GmbH of Berlin, Germany. Under the agreement, Brookwood has exclusive rights to all pharmaceutical
applications of the technology.
The PharmaSol technology can be used to formulate drugs into nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCsTM),
which offer a number of advantages over other drug delivery nanotechnologies
such as liposomes, emulsions and solid lipid nanoparticles. These advantages include increased drug
loading, improved drug incorporation and the ability to produce suspensions
of higher solids content, allowing for decreased dose size and products with
longer shelf life. NLC formulations of drugs can be administered orally, as
well as through intravenous or subcutaneous injection. Brookwood
is currently offering this technology to potential customers, while also
generating additional data to accelerate product development of the NLC drug
delivery platform.
“This
license further broadens the drug delivery technology offerings of SurModics and Brookwood and
complements our existing portfolio,” said Arthur J. Tipton, Ph.D., president
of Brookwood. “Our microparticle
technology has demonstrated multi-day to multi-month delivery; incorporating
this NLC technology can enable shorter-duration injectable
delivery, targeted delivery and high value oral applications for nearly all
therapeutic areas. The license agreement with PharmaSol
demonstrates our commitment to offering leading-edge proprietary technologies
to our customers.”
Professor
R.H. Müller, Ph.D., the inventor of the technology and founder of PharmaSol, is a recognized leader in the field of lipid
nanotechnology. Dr. Müller stated, “I am delighted we have executed this
license agreement. Brookwood has exceptional
capabilities in particle technology, including scale-up and manufacturing.
With this collaboration, we can accelerate the development of NLC lipid
technology and expand its use into a broad range of clinical applications
including oncology, central nervous system (CNS) and cardiovascular.”
“NLC
technology broadens the nanotechnologies that we can offer to customers in
need of drug delivery solutions,” stated Thomas R. Tice, Ph.D., vice
president of research of Brookwood. “Many promising
drug candidates do not reach commercialization because they will not dissolve
in the stomach or intestinal tract. NLCs are designed to increase solubility
of poorly soluble drugs, thus improving oral bioavailability. Additionally, injectable NLC formulations can time release drugs for up
to 7 days.”
About
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology, sometimes referred to as the science of the extremely small, has
across-the-board economic and quality-of-life implications. A nanometer is
one-billionth of a meter. Human hair is approximately 80,000 nanometers wide.
Nanoscale materials are currently used in
electronic, cosmetic, automotive and medical products. Many more products,
future technologies and manufacturing techniques involving nanoscience are being researched and developed around the
world.
About SurModics, Inc.
SurModics, Inc. is a leading provider of surface
modification and drug delivery technologies to the healthcare industry. SurModics partners with the world’s foremost medical
device, pharmaceutical and life science companies to develop and
commercialize innovative products that result in improved patient outcomes.
Core offerings include: drug delivery technologies (coatings, microparticles, and implants); surface modification
coating technologies that impart lubricity, prohealing,
and biocompatibility capabilities; and components for in vitro diagnostic
test kits and specialized surfaces for cell culture and microarrays.
Collaborative efforts include a sustained drug delivery system in human
trials for treatment of retinal disease and the drug delivery polymer matrix
on the first-to-market drug-eluting coronary stent. SurModics
is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota and its Brookwood
Pharmaceuticals subsidiary is located in Birmingham, Alabama. For more
information about the company, visit www.surmodics.com. The content of SurModics’
website is not part of this release or part of any filings the company makes
with the SEC.
Safe
Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Statements that are
not historical or current facts, including statements about beliefs and
expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements
involve inherent risks and uncertainties, and important factors could cause
actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, including the
following: (1) realizing the full potential benefits of the company’s
agreement with Merck & Co., Inc. requires the development of new products
and applications of technology; (2) costs or difficulties relating to the
integration of the businesses of Brookwood
Pharmaceuticals and BioFX Laboratories with SurModics’ business may be greater than expected and may
adversely affect the company’s results of operations and financial condition;
(3) developments in the regulatory environment, as well as market and
economic conditions, and our reliance on third parties, may adversely affect
our business operations and profitability, and the company’s ability to
achieve our fiscal 2008 corporate goals and to realize the potential of our
pipeline; and (4) other factors identified under “Risk Factors” in Part I,
Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September
30, 2007, and updated in our subsequent reports filed with the SEC. These
reports are available in the Investors section of our website at www.surmodics.com and at
the SEC website at www.sec.gov.
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we
undertake no obligation to update them in light of new information or future
events.
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