YORK, Pa., Dec. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Unilife Corporation (NASDAQ: UNIS and ASX: UNS), a developer and supplier of injectable drug delivery systems, announced today the signing of a worldwide 10 year Commercial Supply Agreement with a global pharmaceutical company for the use of the Depot-ject™ delivery system with an approved ocular injection therapy.
The identity of the pharmaceutical company and its target therapy, which is approved in the U.S and Europe for the treatment of a high prevalence disease of the retina, will remain confidential at this time to protect the commercial interests of the customer. The customer has entered into this arrangement to support the lifecycle management of this approved therapy, which is administered via intravitreal injection into the eye. Unilife anticipates the commercial availability of Depot-ject with this therapy after a 12 to 24 month process of customization and regulatory approval for the drug-device combination.
Compared to conventional practices, Depot-ject is designed to allow a clinician to precisely deliver the therapy into the eye through an injection to help protect a drug depot. Unilife will begin to generate revenue from the customer program this quarter via an upfront fee and customization payments. Unilife has granted the customer exclusive access to Depot-ject for use with the target drug in the relevant therapeutic area.
Mr. Alan Shortall, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Unilife said: "Unilife has created a broad portfolio of ocular delivery systems to enhance the intravitreal injection of ophthalmic therapies. The safety, simplicity and convenience of our Depot-ject delivery system has significant potential to improve patient care in the delivery of sustained release drug depots, and allow customers to further differentiate their brands of therapy from current or future competition. We are pleased to have signed our first commercial supply agreement within this fast-growing market segment, and look forward to supporting the customer in the rapid conversion of its approved therapy into our Depot-ject delivery system."
About Depot-ject™
The Depot-ject delivery system has been designed to enable the precise placement of a drug depot into the eye with the clinician having full control over the site of implantation. The drug depot implant is contained within the lumen of the needle enabling it to be supplied ready for implantation. Depot-ject has been designed to provide clinician-controlled implantation and needle retraction to help protect the therapy and the eye of the patient. An ergonomic design allows clinicians to implant a therapy using similar steps to an injection. See www.unilife.com for additional information. The product is yet to be reviewed by the FDA.
About Unilife Corporation
Unilife Corporation (NASDAQ:UNIS / ASX: UNS) is a U.S. based developer and commercial supplier of injectable drug delivery systems. Unilife's portfolio of innovative, differentiated products includes prefilled syringes with automatic needle retraction, drug reconstitution delivery systems, auto-injectors, wearable injectors, ocular delivery systems and novel systems. Products within each platform are customizable to address specific customer, drug and patient requirements. Unilife's global headquarters and manufacturing facilities are located in York, PA. For more information, visit www.unilife.com or download the Unilife IR app on your iPhone, iPad or Android device.
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SOURCE Unilife Corporation