Bactiguard’s licensing partner Smartwise Sweden AB (Smartwise) has signed a strategic collaboration agreement with AstraZeneca regarding, among other things, the development of advanced vascular injection catheters with Bactiguard coating for new, innovative treatment methods of cardiovascular disease and cancer.
”The collaboration agreement with AstraZeneca is a major breakthrough for Smartwise, as a leading global pharmaceutical company is investing in the development of their innovative treatment methods for some of our most common, serious diseases. For Bactiguard, this agreement may generate new license revenue in the longer term, but above all, it demonstrates the quality and potential of our technology and opens the door to new licensing opportunities”, says Cecilia Edström, CFO.
In February 2017, Bactiguard and Smartwise established a joint development project for advanced Bactiguard-coated vascular injection catheters. At the same time, a licensing agreement was signed that generated USD 2.5 million in license revenue for Bactiguard, for the exclusive and global right to the Bactiguard technology in this application area. The receivable linked to this fee was paid in full in the second quarter of 2018, when a final payment of USD 1.25 million was made.
The agreement between Smartwise and AstraZeneca initially does not generate any new license revenues for Bactiguard, but when the catheters reach the market it will generate royalties, which is estimated to be about two to three years into the future.
Through the license agreement with Smartwise and their collaboration agreement with AstraZeneca, Bactiguard takes another important step towards entering an interesting therapeutic area for our technology, whereby drugs and other interventional therapies can be targeted and delivered to specific organs, such as the heart, the abdominal organs and the brain. The full potential of this treatment method is yet to be explored, but pharmaceutical companies, researchers and clinicians see a great benefit in being able to deliver high dose, locally targeted therapies to damaged tissue, following for example stroke and heart attack, or direct into tumors for high dose chemotherapy.
More information about the agreement with AstraZeneca can be found here: https://goo.gl/V84kRu
For further information, please contact:
Cecilia Edström, CFO, cell phone: +46 72 226 23 28
