Aplagon and Cadila Collaborate on Anti-Thrombotic Biologics

On Sep. 19, 2017, Aplagon Oy, a pharmaceutical discovery and development company based in Helsinki, Finland, entered into a development and commercialization agreement with Cadila Pharmaceuticals Sweden AB, for Aplagon’s proprietary lead anti-platelet, anti-coagulant (APAC) product. APACs are locally acting, potent antithrombotic products that target blood vessel wall injury. Cadila is a subsidiary of Cadila Pharmaceuticals Limited, a privately held Indian pharmaceutical company,

Under terms of the agreement, Cadila Pharmaceuticals Sweden AB and its parent company will develop formulations and commercial-scale manufacturing of Aplagon’s APAC product. The partners will collaborate on multicenter, randomized Phase I/II and Phase II/III clinical studies in India, to determine the compound’s efficacy in preventing vascular intervention-related blood vessel occlusions. Following additional pre-clinical studies required in India, recruiting for the first Indian clinical trial is expected to start in 2019.

Although the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, Cadila Pharmaceuticals will pay for a significant part of the projected cost of these clinical studies, in turn, receiving commercialization rights for APACs in India, and a share of future commercialization proceeds outside India. Aplagon, meanwhile, will receive a royalty on Indian sales, and will retain commercialization rights for APAC products outside India.

APACs, discovered by Aplagon scientists, are heparin proteoglycan mimetics that target the vascular injury site and act locally.  These biologics are being developed to treat unmet patient needs associated with the prevention and management of both the short- and long -term complications of vascular intervention-related blood vessel occlusions. In the first instance, Aplagon is pursuing the development of APACs for selected indications where no current treatments exist.

Source: Aplagon Oy