Acrux in major deal with Eli Lilly

Melbourne drug delivery systems developer Acrux has signed a major deal with global pharmaceutical group Eli Lilly and Company to commercialise its veterinary product line.

The licensing deal, initiated a year ago at Bio2002 in Toronto, gives the local company an invaluable foot-in-the-door to the veterinary prescription market, estimated to be worth US$11billion globally.

Under the agreement, Acrux's wholly-owned subsidiary Acrux DDS will receive an undisclosed upfront technology access fee from Eli Lilly's animal health division, Elanco.

Acrux will receive royalties from future sales of products arising out of the collaboration, and will also benefit from Elanco's agreement to conduct and fund related product development activities.

Company chief executive Igor Gonda said he could not yet reveal the value of the deal.

"A more significant aspect of the deal is that here we have a big, experienced, very selective global pharmaceutical player who has obviously done their due diligence on the company," Gonda said.

"So it is great validation for our technology and its application to various markets."

The licensing agreement covers Acrux's Metered Dose Transdermal System (MDTS) for animal health indications.

The technology, licensed from Monash University, is a small spray device that offers a new way of administering drugs via the skin as an alternative to oral or injected dosing.

Treatment is administered by combining a solution of an existing drug with proprietary Across penetration enhancers, which are based on sunscreens and used to enhance the passage of drugs through the skin.

The solution is put in a vial and fitted to an MDTS applicator, which is then placed against the skin and a button pressed to administer a metered dose.

The medication, generally enough for a single day, disappears through the skin within a few minutes.

"If you have a pet or have ever worked on a farm you will know that it is very difficult and stressful for animals to take pills or receive injections," Gonda said.

"With this spray, medication is clearly not stressful and is a better way of administration."

He said the licensing deal would look at the development of products that combined Acrux technology with existing veterinary drugs, particularly in the expanding companion animal market where pet applications tended to mirror those for humans, such as pain management.

He said that by using existing drugs the company removed a large element of risk from a product's development because safety and efficacy of the compound had already been proven.

"We are very pleased to be able to work with a leading innovator in animal health care to develop and commercialise valuable products for the companion and production animal business," Gonda said.

"We believe that, by partnering with Elanco, we will be able to offer attractive alternatives to oral delivery and injections for animals."

Gonda said that while the current deal focused on the veterinary market, having secured such a major licensing arrangement would make future deals for its human drug delivery products somewhat easier.

"It is obviously a lot easier to discuss future collaborations with an existing partner," he said.

"What tends to also happen is that once you have signed a deal with one company, others realise that proper due diligence has been done and they show more interest."

Acrux already has a research and development collaboration with Pharmacia and has sib-licensed its technology for psoriasis and local anaesthetic drugs to Connetics Australia, a subsidiary of Connetics in the United States.