iCeutica acquired by US pharma

The details of the deal weren’t disclosed, but iCeutica CEO Mr Matt Callahan says its US-based partner Iroko Pharmaceuticals bought out his company for a sum amounting to around ten times the closing valuation of its first fundraising round in 2005.

iCeutica developed SoluMatrix, a reformulation technology acquired from the University of Western Australia, which can improve the drug delivery.

"The technology is a way of nanosizing the active ingredient in pharmaceuticals," Callahan told ALS. "It can dramatically change and improve the way the drug dissolves."

iCeutica’s internal clinical pipeline currently includes reformulations of pain and inflammation drug meloxicam and muscle relaxant metaxalone. It has also already been working with Iroko on reformulations of three of its drugs.

The combined iCeutica/Iroko company will have five clinical stage products, with three products having completed Phase II trials, one entering Phase II trials and one entering Pilot PK trials in the coming 12 months.

Four of these products are reformulations of the popular non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs class of pain and inflammation products.

According to iCeutica Chairman, Osagie Imasogie, the technology is very "elegant". "It solves a prolbem that other companies have spent considerbale money and time trying to solve in complex manner," he said.

"This is a great example of the world class intellectual property being developed in Australia and making a real impact on the global pharmaceuticals market. There is a wonderful opportunity to repeat this success with other Australian technologies and companies, given the depth of research and talent in Australia."

iCeutica will be operated as a stand-alone company within the Iroko group and will continue to develop new products for patients via traditional oral and inhalable delivery routes. These products will be developed either by iCeutica, or in conjunction with external partners.