Ipsen (Paris:IPN) (Euronext: IPN, ADR: IPSEY) and Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals Inc. (Inspiration) today announced they have entered into a strategic partnership agreement, to create a European hemophilia commercial organization, to launch Inspiration's hemophilia product portfolio in Europe. This partnership is designed to leverage the combined strengths of Ipsen's well established European commercial infrastructure and medical network, with Inspiration's expertise in the field of hemophilia. Inspiration and Ipsen will work together to hire and train a highly specialized commercial team to serve as the exclusive sales organization in Europe for all hemophilia drugs commercialized under the Inspiration brand. This commercial organization will take the form of a hemophilia business unit nested within Ipsen's existing commercial organization.
Inspiration currently has two product candidates in pivotal clinical testing: IB1001, an intravenous (IV) recombinant factor IX (FIX) product being developed for the treatment and prevention of bleeding in individuals with hemophilia B, and OBI-1, an IV porcine recombinant factor VIII (FVIII) product being developed for the treatment of bleeding in individuals with acquired hemophilia A and individuals with congenital hemophilia A who have developed inhibitors against human FVIII. Inspiration anticipates filing a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for IB1001 by the end of this year.
John Taylor, Co-Founder and Chairman of Inspiration, commented, "As Inspiration transitions toward becoming a commercial-stage company, accessing Ipsen's commercial infrastructure and expertise in Europe will facilitate our entry into this important region of the world. The commercial partnership agreement with Ipsen is an important step forward in achieving our business objectives, while leveraging Ipsen's resources, presence and experience in Europe. I am proud of Inspiration's accomplishments, and the progress we have made to date, in the development of our hemophilia product portfolio. As a company, we continue to be focused on the objectives of improving access to care and expanding product choice for individuals with hemophilia."
Marc de Garidel, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ipsen, stated, "We are pleased to further expand our partnership with Inspiration. Ipsen once again demonstrates its commitment to becoming a leader in specialty healthcare solutions for targeted debilitating diseases, for the benefit of patients, prescribers and all stakeholders".
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