19th Apr 2006 07:01
Vectura Group PLC19 April 2006 VECTURA ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT WITH BOEHRINGER INGELHEIM ON A NEW INHALER Chippenham/UK - April 19 2006: Vectura Group plc (LSE: VEC) ("Vectura") todayannounced that it has agreed a worldwide collaboration, development and licenceagreement with the leading German pharmaceutical company, Boehringer Ingelheim.The aim of the collaboration is to develop a dry powder inhaler ("DPI") as aBoehringer Ingelheim branded device, to deliver a range of proprietaryrespiratory products of Boehringer Ingelheim, mainly for the treatment of asthmaand chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Under the non-exclusive agreement, Vectura will work with Boehringer Ingelheimon the continued development of the inhaler until the end of 2007, after whichBoehringer Ingelheim will be responsible for any further development,manufacturing, clinical trial use with proprietary compounds of BoehringerIngelheim, and the commercialisation of these products. Under the terms of the agreement, Vectura will receive an initial payment of €5million and a €10 million (£6.9 million) equity investment. Following thispurchase of 4.9 million ordinary shares at £1.40 per share, Boehringer Ingelheimwill hold approximately 3.8% of the enlarged fully diluted share capital ofVectura. An additional payment and a further equity investment will be made to Vecturaupon the achievement of pre-agreed pre-clinical milestones. The option toacquire further equity is under similar terms to the first equity investment.This option expires in late 2007 and is capped at €5 million. Additional milestones will be payable to Vectura for each Boehringer Ingelheimproduct developed using the device. In addition to the above, royalties will be paid on all global sales ofBoehringer Ingelheim products delivered with the device. The majority of treatments for asthma and COPD are delivered by inhalation.Global markets for these treatments are valued in excess of $16 billion todayand are forecast to grow to over $32 billion by 2010. Boehringer Ingelheim isone of the world's leading companies developing therapies for the treatment ofasthma and COPD. Dry powder inhalers are increasingly the first choice forpatients with these diseases and it is expected that DPIs will be used todeliver the majority of the drugs sold in these markets by 2010. Dr Chris Blackwell, Chief Executive of Vectura, said: "Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the leading global players in respiratorymedicine, as has been demonstrated with products like Spiriva(R) and itscommitment to improving the delivery of its inhaled products. The total dealvalue reflects the strategic importance of Boehringer Ingelheim's respiratorypipeline and makes the company an ideal collaboration partner for Vectura. Thenon-exclusive nature of this agreement allows us to continue our efforts todeliver further value from our inhaled therapy technologies in the future." Enquiries: Vectura Group Plc Tel + 44 (0) 1249 667700Chris Blackwell, Chief ExecutiveAnne Hyland, CFO Financial Dynamics Tel: + 44 (0) 207 831 3113David Yates / Sarah MacLeod/ John Gilbert Notes for Editors: About Vectura Vectura's principal focus is the development of a range of inhaled drugs for thetreatment of both lung diseases and other conditions where optimised deliveryvia the lungs can provide significant benefits, such as a rapid onset of action,improved efficacy and improved tolerability compared with current therapies. Vectura's strategy is to combine its proprietary, innovative, pulmonaryformulation and device technologies (PowderHale(R), Aspirair(R) and GyroHaler(R)) with existing, off-patent drugs either for use in new indications or toprovide inhalation as an improved route of administration. The Company seeks tolicense its lead products to pharmaceutical companies with established sales andmarketing infrastructures for the later stages of development and forcommercialisation, typically prior to Phase III clinical development. TheCompany has development collaborations with a number of companies, includingNovartis, GSK, Chiesi and an unnamed leading international pharmaceuticalcompany. For further information, please visit Vectura's website atwww.vectura.com About Boehringer Ingelheim The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world's 20 leading pharmaceuticalcompanies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates globally with 143affiliates in 47 countries and almost 37,500 employees. Since it was founded in1885, the family-owned company has been committed to researching, developing,manufacturing and marketing novel products of high therapeutic value for humanand veterinary medicine. In 2005, Boehringer Ingelheim posted net sales of €9.5 billion while spendingalmost one fifth of net sales in its largest business segment, PrescriptionMedicines, on research and development. For more information please visit www.boehringer-ingelheim.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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