Marketwire
LAVAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - Nov. 6, 2013) - ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. (TSX:PLI) (OTCQX:PFSCF), ("ProMetic" or the "Corporation") announced today the achievement of a milestone related to its strategic agreement ("Agreement") with Hematech Biotherapeutics Inc. ("Hematech") worth $1.5 million. A second milestone representing another $1.0 million is also expected to be achieved this quarter.
Pursuant to the Agreement signed in May 2012, $10 million was committed to ProMetic by Hematech for the non-exclusive manufacturing rights related to ProMetic's proprietary plasma protein purification system ("PPPS™"), said rights being exclusive for Taiwan and for the co-exclusive commercialization rights to plasminogen on a global basis. Hematech is expected to fund the construction of its PPPS™ driven facility and to commence manufacturing multiple plasma-derived biopharmaceuticals for ProMetic and ProMetic's licensees in 2017.
As part of the Agreement, $2.0 million was paid to ProMetic in 2012 and $2.5 million worth of milestone payment are expected to impact H2 2013. The Agreement calls for additional milestone payments in 2014 in relation to the filing of Investigational New Drug ("IND") applications for two plasma-derived biopharmaceuticals.
"We are very pleased with the progress achieved this year by ProMetic regarding its plasma purification facility. The commissioning of ProMetic's facility this year is key to the design of our own facility in Taipei", stated Dr Chan, Chairman of Hematech. "Our additional manufacturing capacity will serve to address identified unmet medical needs", added Dr Chan.
Following the completion of clinical trials and regulatory approval, ProMetic will manufacture plasminogen in its Laval facility and will commercialize it, sharing profits equally with Hematech. Hematech's planned facility in Taiwan will be adding significant manufacturing capacity to supply ProMetic with Alpha-1 Antitrypsin ("AAT") and other valuable therapeutic proteins that PPPS™ can recover at superior yields compared to industry average. Hematech will derive a manufacturing margin as it supplies AAT and other biopharmaceuticals to ProMetic.
"The start-up of our plasma manufacturing facility will enable the production of orphan drugs targeting unmet medical needs", mentioned Mr. Pierre Laurin, ProMetic's President and Chief Executing Officer. "This milestone achievement bodes well for the advancement of both plasminogen and other plasma derived therapeutics with their manufacturing taking place at ProMetic's existing and Hematech's future facilities", added Mr. Laurin.
About Plasminogen:
Plasminogen is a naturally occurring protein that is synthesized by the liver and circulates in the blood. Activated plasminogen, plasmin, is an enzymatic component of the fibrinolytic system and is the main enzyme involved in the lysis of clots and clearance of extravasated fibrin. Plasminogen is therefore involved in wound healing, cell migration, tissue remodeling, angiogenesis and embryogenesis.
About AAT
More on Alpha1-Antitrypsin can be found on the Alpha 1-Antitrypsin foundation website at http://alpha-1foundation.org/
About ProMetic Life Sciences Inc.
ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. (www.prometic.com) is a long established biopharmaceutical company with globally recognized expertise in bioseparations, plasma-derived therapeutics and small-molecule drug development. ProMetic offers its state of the art technologies for large-scale purification of biologics, drug development, proteomics and the elimination of pathogens to a growing base of industry leaders and uses its own affinity technology that provides for highly efficient extraction and purification of therapeutic proteins from human plasma in order to develop best-in-class therapeutics and orphan drugs. ProMetic is also active in developing its own novel small-molecule therapeutic products targeting unmet medical needs in the field of fibrosis, cancer and autoimmune diseases/inflammation. Headquartered in Laval (Canada), ProMetic has R&D facilities in the UK, the U.S. and Canada, manufacturing facilities in the UK and business development activities in the U.S., Europe and Asia.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements about ProMetic's objectives, strategies and businesses that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are "forward-looking" because they are based on our current expectations about the markets we operate in and on various estimates and assumptions. Actual events or results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements if known or unknown risks affect our business, or if our estimates or assumptions turn out to be inaccurate. Such risks and assumptions include, but are not limited to, ProMetic's ability to develop, manufacture, and successfully commercialize value-added pharmaceutical products, the availability of funds and resources to pursue R&D projects, the successful and timely completion of clinical studies, the ability of ProMetic to take advantage of business opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry, uncertainties related to the regulatory process and general changes in economic conditions. You will find a more detailed assessment of the risks that could cause actual events or results to materially differ from our current expectations on page 26 of ProMetic's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2012, under the heading "Risk and Uncertainties related to ProMetic's business". As a result, we cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statement even if new information becomes available, as a result of future events or for any other reason, unless required by applicable securities laws and regulations. All amounts are in Canadian dollars unless indicated otherwise.