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For Immediate Release 07 June 2005
The Medical House PLC
Initial deal for AutoSafety Injector (ASI)
The Medical House PLC (“TMH”), (AIM:MLH) the drug
delivery and orthopaedic devices company, is pleased to announce
that it has signed a binding term sheet agreement with a UK-based
subsidiary of a major global healthcare products group. For reasons
of commercial and market confidentiality, TMH is not yet in a
position to disclose the identity of the pharmaceutical company.
The agreement relates to TMH's disposable AutoSafety Injector
(ASI) to be used to deliver a currently undisclosed drug. TMH's
revenues are anticipated to be in the region of £3 million
over an initial five-year period. Discussions are now ongoing
between the parties to negotiate the definitive terms of a development,
licence and supply agreement. It is anticipated that the collaboration
could be extended in future to other drug products in the pharmaceutical
company’s portfolio.
In addition to its needle-free jet injectors, ASI is TMH’s
recently developed needle-based disposable autoinjector system.
ASI allows injections to be undertaken by patients themselves
or by other non-clinicians such as family members, friends and
colleagues. The ASI incorporates drugs in standard pre-filled
syringes and is suitable for injection of a wide range of pharmaceuticals
to treat a variety of medical conditions. It ensures comfortable,
consistent injection outcomes, whilst also overcoming patients’
aversion to injecting with needles and eliminating risks of needlestick
injuries and disease transmission associated with used needles.
It is estimated that more than 1 billion prefilled syringes are
currently used worldwide. The market for prefilled syringes is
believed to be growing at an annual rate of more than 5%. Drugs
supplied in prefilled syringes are primarily injected for conditions
such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and for vaccination.
TMH will update the market in due course on details of the final
collaboration.
Ian Townsend, Chairman, The Medical House, said:
"We are very pleased to have signed this term sheet agreement
with this pharmaceutical company, as it provides further validation
of The Medical House's ability to deal in the global healthcare
arena.
This is a particularly exciting development as it represents
the first deal to bring our disposable autoinjector technology,
the ASI, to market for self-injection. We are presently in discussions
with a number of other potential partners for the ASI who indicate
that the simplicity of its design offers many advantages, such
as ease of operation, cost effectiveness and rapid commercialisation
for pharmaceutical company partners. We look forward to updating
the market on details of this collaboration in due course.”
-Ends-
For further information
The Medical House PLC
Ian Townsend, Chairman 0114 261 9011
www.themedicalhouse.com
Buchanan Communications
Tim Anderson/Lisa Baderoon/Rebecca Skye Dietrich 020 7466 5000
Notes to Editors:
About The Medical House – Market Background
TMH has progressively been developing a range of needle-free
devices which are already successfully used in the market. TMH's
SQ-PEN needle-free device has great potential in drug delivery
worldwide. TMH also has several distribution agreements in place
for the insulin market for its range of reusable needle-free injectors.
In February 2004, TMH announced a license and supply agreement
with Dechra Plc for needle-free injection system for use with
pet animals.
In January 2005 TMH announced an agreement which it has signed
with Serono, to develop and license a new needle-free delivery
system for the delivery of Serono's Human Growth Hormone products.
In February 2005 TMH announced a 10-year agreement which it has
signed with BioPartners GmbH, to supply its GH1 needle-free system
for the delivery of BioPartners’ Human Growth Hormone products.
The market for Human Growth Hormone drugs is expected to reach
$2.2 billion by 2006 according to AS Insights.
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