Novartis subsidiary to produce new HESylated drug

Sandoz, the Novartis generics subsidiary, has entered into a cooperative agreement with Fresenius Kabi to develop a modified form of a drug in the Sandoz pipeline.

The companies will use Fresenius Kabi’s HESylation technology to alter a recombinant protein currently under development by Sandoz.

Such modifications are designed to enhance the safety profile of drugs and extend their half-life.

While Sandoz will be responsible for the pre-clinical and clinical development of the drug, Fresenius Kabi will select an appropriate hydroxethyl starch (HES) with which to modify the compound.

In return Fresenius Kabi will receive milestone payments for the protein-specific licensing of its technology.

HES is formulated from waxy maize starch. It is suitable for as a modifier for existing drugs as it can be metabolised by the body.

Fresenius Kabi said it intends to offer its technology to other pharmaceutical partners.

The company employs some 15,000 people worldwide and works to provide infusion therapies and clinical nutrition to critically ill patients outside the hospital. It can trace its history back to 1462, when the Hirsch Pharmacy was opened in Frankfurt. The Fresenius family assumed ownership of the pharmacy in the 18th century.

It is now an international company with sites in several countries, including the UK, where it is based in Runcorn, Cheshire.

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