Salix Pharmaceuticals granted rights to use Lupin's bioadhesive drug delivery technology

Pharma Major, Lupin Ltd today announced that it has granted Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. (Nasdaq: SLXP) the exclusive rights for the United States to its bioadhesive drug delivery technology for use with Rifaximin.

Lupin and Salix have entered into an agreement under which the two companies will collaborate in the development and commercialization of an extended release product incorporating Rifaximin and utilizing Lupin's proprietary bioadhesive technology. In connection with this agreement, Lupin and Salix have also entered into an exclusive agreement in the United States for supply of Rifaximin active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). Salix has made a $5 million up-front payment and will make additional regulatory milestone payments to Lupin. In addition, Salix will pay royalties on net sales of the bioadhesive Rifaximin product to Lupin.

Nilesh Gupta, Group President and Executive Director, Lupin, stated "We are very pleased to enter into this collaboration with Salix. We believe our proprietary bioadhesive drug delivery technology, which combines controlled-release as well as slowed gastrointestinal transit, would provide an extended release formulation of rifaximin that will be an important component of Salix's lifecycle management strategy for rifaximin. This formulation coupled with Salix's commercialization capabilities gives us the opportunity to jointly bring a great product to the marketplace. Importantly, this alliance further validates Lupin's increasing capabilities in the drug delivery space."

Carolyn Logan, President and CEO, Salix, commented, "We are pleased to enter into this strategic collaboration with Lupin. This collaboration to develop and commercialize an extended release formulation of rifaximin is a significant advancement in rifaximin's lifecycle management strategy. With this collaboration Salix embarks on the development of our next generation rifaximin product incorporating Lupin's proprietary drug delivery platform with our proprietary gut-targeted antibiotic. We believe this novel delivery approach, which combines controlled-release as well as slowed gastrointestinal transit of rifaximin, might prove to provide a number of clinical advantages including patient compliance and patient convenience. The acquisition of these rights to Lupin's proprietary bioadhesive drug delivery technology should serve to further protect this important Company asset."