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pSivida Announces Beijing Med-Pharm Licence
Upfront and Milestone Payments
BrachySil(TM) Entry Point for China
PERTH, Australia--Oct. 27, 2005--Global bio-nanotech company pSivida Limited
(NASDAQ:PSDV, ASX:PSD, Xetra:PSI) today announced it has signed a Licence
with Beijing Med-Pharm Corporation (BJGP:PK) for the clinical development,
marketing and distribution of pSivida's lead product, BrachySil(TM), in
China.
Under the terms of the Licence, pSivida will manufacture BrachySil(TM) and
Beijing Med-Pharm will be responsible for clinical development, securing
regulatory approval, marketing and distribution in China. pSivida will
retain manufacturing rights for BrachySil(TM) under the Licence. It is a
condition of the licence that a Manufacturing and Supply Agreement for
pSivida to supply BrachySil(TM) to Beijing Med-Pharm is concluded within 90
days.
The Licence includes upfront and milestone payments in excess of US$2
million and royalties ranging up to 30%, depending upon level of sales,
payable to pSivida by Beijing Med-Pharm.
Beijing Med-Pharm is a US-based company with Chinese subsidiaries that
offers an end-to-end solution to primarily Western pharmaceutical companies
who wish to sell their products into the Chinese marketplace. In December
2004, Beijing Med-Pharm initiated the first ever purchase of a Chinese
pharmaceutical distribution company by a foreign entity after it signed an
agreement to purchase Beijing Wanwei Pharmaceutical Ltd., a pharmaceutical
distributor covering the bulk of Beijing's hospitals.
BrachySil(TM) (32-P BioSilicon(TM)) will enter a Phase IIb dose-profiling
study shortly as a potential new treatment for primary liver cancer (also
called hepatocellular carcinoma or HCC). China has the highest incidence of
HCC in the world, with over 345,000 estimated new cases per annum (Globocan),
representing 55% of total worldwide cases. Given the clinical proof of
principle already established for BrachySil(TM), focused programs are being
prepared to exploit its broader utility in other significant cancer
indications, including inoperable pancreatic and secondary liver disease.
Gavin Rezos, CEO of pSivida said, "China is the world's fastest growing
market for pharmaceuticals with a large and steadily increasing incidence of
the types of cancer that we believe BrachySil(TM) can effectively treat.
Gaining entry into this market, through partners such as Beijing Med-Pharm,
is an important part of pSivida's global commercial strategy. This agreement
clearly validates the commercial potential of the BrachySil(TM) product and
technology, and will serve as a robust platform for further licensing
agreements for BrachySil(TM) in other territories, including Europe and the
United States".
Martyn Greenacre, Chairman of Beijing Med-Pharm said, "BrachySil(TM) is a
highly innovative product addressing a significant patient population in
China and thus an important addition to our portfolio of products to be
commercialized. The growing middle class in China allows for a growing and
significant population with the ability to pay for medicines of this type".
pSivida Limited recently announced that it had entered into a definitive
merger agreement to acquire Control Delivery Systems, a US based drug
delivery company with the potential to create a global bio-nanotech company
specializing in drug delivery, with revenues from existing products and
generating long-term value through its diversified late-stage product
portfolio.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
pSivida Limited
pSivida is a global bio-nanotech company committed to the biomedical sector
and the development of products in healthcare. The company's focus is the
development and commercialization of a modified form of silicon (porosified
or nano-structured silicon) known as BioSilicon(TM). As a new and exciting
biocompatible material, BioSilicon(TM) offers multiple potential
applications across the high growth healthcare sector, including controlled
release drug delivery, targeted cancer therapies (including brachytherapy
and localized chemotherapy), tissue engineering and orthopedics. Potential
diagnostics applications are being developed through its subsidiary AION
Diagnostics Limited.
pSivida owns the intellectual property rights to BioSilicon(TM) for use in
or on humans and animals. The IP portfolio consists of 29 patent families,
34 granted patents and over 80 patent applications. The core patent, which
recognises BioSilicon(TM) as a biomaterial was granted in the UK in 2000 and
in the US in 2001.
pSivida is listed on NASDAQ (PSDV), the Australian Stock Exchange (PSD) and
in Germany on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on the XETRA system (German
Symbol: PSI. Securities Code (WKN) 358705). pSivida's shares also trade in
the United Kingdom on the OFEX International Market Service (IMS) under the
ticker symbol PSD. pSivida is a founding member of the NASDAQ Health Care
Index and the Merrill Lynch Nanotechnology Index.
The Company's strategic partner and largest shareholder is the QinetiQ
group, the largest science and technology company in Europe. QinetiQ is the
former UK government Defence Evaluation Research Agency and was instrumental
in discovering BioSilicon(TM). pSivida enjoys a strong relationship with
QinetiQ having access to its cutting edge research and development
facilities. For more information on QinetiQ visit
www.qinetiq.com.
For more information, visit www.psivida.com
About Beijing Med-Pharm Corporation
Beijing Med-Pharm Corporation is a pharmaceutical marketing company that
offers the following services in China through its wholly-owned subsidiary,
Beijing Med-Pharm Market Calculating Co. Ltd.: pre-market entry analysis;
clinical trial management; product registration; market research; and
pharmaceutical marketing to physicians, hospitals and other healthcare
providers.
In December 2004, Beijing Med-Pharm signed an agreement to purchase Beijing
Wanwei Pharmaceutical Ltd., a pharmaceutical distributor covering the bulk
of Beijing's hospitals. This is the first-ever purchase of a Chinese
pharmaceutical distribution company by a foreign entity, permitted only
after a December 2004 change in Chinese law. By adding this distributor to
its existing sales and marketing services, upon completion of the
acquisition, Beijing Med-Pharm will offer an unparalleled opportunity to
reach China, the world's fastest-growing market.
For more information, visit
www.beijingmedpharm.com
This document contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and
uncertainties. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such
forward-looking statements are reasonable at this time, we can give no
assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Given these
uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such
forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from
those anticipated in these forward-looking statements due to many important
factors including: our failure to develop applications for BioSilicon(TM)
due to regulatory, scientific or other issues. Other reasons are contained
in cautionary statements in the Registration Statement on Form 20-F filed
with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without
limitation, under Item 3.D, "Risk Factors" therein. We do not undertake to
update any oral or written forward-looking statements that may be made by or
on behalf of pSivida.
Contact:
Investor Relations:
pSivida Limited
Brian Leedman, + 61 8 9226 5099
brianl@psivida.com
or
US Public Relations:
Martin E. Janis & Company, Inc
Beverly Jedynak, 312-943-1100 ext. 12
bjedynak@janispr.com
or
UK & Europe Public Relations:
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Mark Swallow / Helena Podd, +44 (0)20 7638 9571
mark.swallow@citigatedr.co.uk
or
Beijing Med-Pharm Corporation
Ben Austin, 917-686-3979
baustin@beijingmedpharm.com
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