IMMUNETECH ACQUIRES DURA PHARMACEUTICALS ALLERGY PRODUCTS FIRM, adding $3.3 mil. in sales and an established sales force of 18 reps who detail Dura prescription drugs and medical devices to the allergist market. The acquisition, completed Dec. 1, is a complementary fit for Immunetech, a San Diego-based R&D start-up specializing in peptide research in allergy products. The company said last May it was looking for an acquisition in preparation for launching its own products to the estimated 3,500-4,000 practicing U.S. allergists ("The Pink Sheet" May 22, T&G-10). Immunetech is awaiting market approval for Pentyde (pentigetide) for allergic rhinitis. San Diego County-based Dura markets six off-patent controlled-release pharmaceuticals containing combinations of cough/cold and allergy products in tab or cap form: Dura-Vent, Dura-Tap-PD, Duragest, Dura-Vent-A and DA and Fenesin. Dura's products are sold in the U.S. and distributed in Canada and at U.S. military bases worldwide. The company's lead medical device is the DURA-Neb 2000 portable nebulizer, which has been on the market a little over two years. The company also owns exclusive distribution rights to a patented air/solution mixing device for nebulization called the Pari-Jet. Dura's sales force, numbering 10 before the acquisition, has been expanded to 18. Company President Cam Garner said current plans call for the addition of seven more sales reps by the end of 1990. Garner joined Dura after the acquisition from the animal vaccine maker Syntro, where he was president. Immunetech is currently shepherding Pentyde through the regulatory approval process at FDA. A subcutaneous version of Pentyde was reviewed by FDA's Pulmonary-Allergy Drugs Advisory Committee in 1988 ("The Pink Sheet" Nov. 21, T&G-1), which asked for further efficacy studies. Those studies are expected to get underway this year, Immunetech President and CEO Gordon Ramseier said. An NDA is also pending for a Pentyde Nasal Spray; it was submitted in 1988. Immunetech plans to submit an NDA for Pentyde Eye Drops before the end of February as a prescription treatment for allergic conjunctivitis, Ramseier added. Immunetech is also looking into Pentyde's use as an asthma product in an aerosolized version. The product is in Phase I/II for that indication. Dura, which was founded in 1981, will be operated as a wholly-owned Immunetech subsidiary. The acquisition was financed by an Immunetech institutional investor "through a cash-flow repayment loan," the company said. Immunetech was established in 1984 with funding from Domain Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Citicorp, the Advent Group and Hambrecht & Quist.
Read the full article – start your free trial today!
Join thousands of industry professionals who rely on Pink Sheet for daily insights
Advanz Pharma would have had to show that the European Commission’s decision to revoke Ocaliva’s conditional marketing approval risked causing serious and irreparable harm, according to lawyers from Van Bael & Bellis.
We are conducting a survey to better understand our subscribers’ content and delivery needs. If there are any changes you’d like to see in coverage topics, article format, or the method in which you access the Pink Sheet – or if you love it how it is – now is the time to have your voice heard.
The FDA's Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee will consider whether appropriate dosages of belantamab mafodotin have been identified for two second-line, multiple myeloma indications. Ocular toxicities and large number of dose modifications in trials raised FDA concerns about benefit-risk.
The official separation of those impacted by the reduction-in-force and some others who are leaving the agency are not yet reflected in CDER employee gains and losses data.