Unilife Corporation ("Unilife" or "Company") (Nasdaq: UNIS; ASX: UNS) today announced that it has signed an exclusive five-year agreement with Stason Pharmaceuticals Inc ("Stason"), a U.S.-based pharmaceutical company, to market the Unitract™ 1mL safety syringe ("Product") in Japan, China and Taiwan ("designated territories"). Stason's Taiwan-based strategic alliance affiliate, Standard Chem. and Pharm. Co., LTD ("Standard"), will act as the primary distributor of the product within these designated territories.
This agreement includes a requirement for Stason to purchase a minimum of one million units of the Unitract™ 1mL syringe per year during the term of the contract (subject to annual review). Stason is placing an immediate annual order with Unilife for the purchase of one million units of the Unitract™ 1mL syringe. Other countries within South-East Asia may be added to the list of designated territories where Stason has exclusive rights to sell the Product if the parties reach agreement on minimum orders for those countries.
Stason CEO Harry Fan stated: "We believe strongly in the market for the Unitract™ safety syringe and its potential to help decrease needlestick injuries around the world. We are excited to be one of the first distributors of this revolutionary device and to have the opportunity to exclusively distribute the Unitract™ syringe to our customers in Asia. In particular, we believe there are significant opportunities for pharmaceutical companies to gain a competitive market advantage by supplying their injectable drugs in kits containing the drug vial and units of the Unitract™ 1mL Syringe."
Stason Vice President, Corporate Development Diana Wood, added: "This strategic alliance with Unilife also represents our joint vision where drugs and devices come together to deliver medications more comfortably to patients and more safely for hospital staff."
Unilife CEO Alan Shortall stated: "With manufacturing of our Unitract™ 1mL syringes underway at our FDA-certified facility in Pennsylvania, we are excited to move forward with this initial distribution agreement and initial order for one million Unitract™ safety syringes with Stason Pharmaceuticals and Standard Chem. and Pharma. We believe there is a significant market opportunity for our safety syringes throughout the Asia-Pacific region, especially within fast-growing nations where there is both an appreciation for innovative US-manufactured technology and a desire to use premium safety medical devices which can minimize the transmission of blood-borne pathogens such as HIV and hepatitis C within healthcare facilities.