Lipoxen PLC, a biopharmaceutical company based in London, announced that it has entered into an exclusive worldwide development and license agreement with a subsidiary of Baxter International Inc., to develop longer-acting recombinant factor VIII (rFVIII) products. The signing of the agreement by Baxter was accompanied by a $1 million payment to Lipoxen. The agreement also includes additional clinical and regulatory milestone payments to Lipoxen, potentially as much as $75 million, plus royalties on any future product sales.

For one year  prior to signing the agreement the companies engaged in a “research evalution period,” collaborating on research that combined Baxter’s therapeutic proteins with Lipoxen’s PolyXen® technology. PolyXen® uses natural polymer polysialic acid (PSA) to prolong the half-life and improve stability of proteins such as recombinant factor VIII.

According to representatives from Lipoxen, the research evaluation period demonstrated a successful collaboration. “We are very excited to sign this significant agreement with Baxter, our second major development agreement in the past year. Over the course of the 12-month evaluation period, our PolyXen® technology has indicated its potential for improving the delivery and effectiveness of Baxter’s proprietary proteins and thereby represents an important validation of this protein drug delivery technology,” said M. Scott Maguire, CEO of Lipoxen.

Baxter seems equally optimistic about the joint research collaboration. “Our agreement with Lipoxen furthers Baxter’s legacy of scientific innovation and leveraging partnerships in the area of blood-free recombinant protein processing,”said Hartmut J. Ehrlich, MD, Vice President, global research and development, for Baxter’s BioScience business. “Extending the duration of a blood-clotting treatment in the body is important for both patients and physicians when evaluating haemophilia therapy.”

Source: Lipoxen news release dated December 15, 2006