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SJ Berwin Advises NicOx S.A on the reacquisition of rights to glaucoma
compound from Pfizer Inc
11 September 2009: SJ Berwin today announced that it has advised NicOx S.A,
the emerging pharmaceutical company listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris, on an
agreement with Pfizer Inc. The conclusion of the agreement sees NicOx reacquire
the full development and commercialisation rights to compound PF-03287207, which
has completed two phase 2 studies in patients with glaucoma.
Under the new agreement, NicOx is also regaining rights to certain NicOx
technology and a number of novel research stage compounds with potential
application across a broad range of eye diseases. Such diseases, some of which
currently have no effective treatment, affect millions of people worldwide and
can lead to impaired vision or total blindness.
The new agreement provides NicOx with rights to access and use certain
proprietary Pfizer Xalatan® development information and cross-refer to Xalatan®
regulatory filings, which could be important for the potential future
development and regulatory filing of PF 03187207. Pfizer will also provide
temporary technical support to help the transition to any further clinical
program. In return, NicOx has agreed to pay Pfizer two undisclosed milestones,
in addition to royalties on future sales.
The agreement announced today supersedes and concludes two previous agreements
with Pfizer on which SJ Berwin had advised NicOx.
Andrew Shindler, a partner in SJ Berwin's Pharmaceutical group, who has acted
for NicOx since its formation and advised it on the agreement (assisted by Greg
France) commented:
“This is the latest in a series of transactions we have concluded for NicOx with
large and medium size pharmaceutical companies over the last eight or nine
years. It was, as ever, a pleasure working with NicOx on this transaction, which
we hope leads to a successful outcome for the company and for future patients."
Dr Gavin Spencer, NicOx's Vice President Business Development, added:
“SJ Berwin, and in particular Andrew Shindler, have been key members of the
negotiation teams for NicOx in a succession of deals. The continuity of
high-quality legal support, integrated into the negotiation process, has been
instrumental in the conclusion of this deal. We look forward to continuing to
work with them as NicOx works towards becoming a commercial organisation.”
Pfizer was represented by its in-house legal team.
- ENDS -
Contact
Andrew Shindler
Partner
T: +44 (0)207 111 2658, E:
andrew.shindler@sjberwin.com
Dawn Holden
Business Development Manager
T: +44 (0)207 111 5340, E:
dawn.holden@sjberwin.com
Notes to Editors
1. SJ Berwin is an international law firm with more than 170 partners and 500
other lawyers based in 11 offices in Europe, East Asia and the Middle East.
2. SJ Berwin has a very active and highly rated Pharmaceuticals & Lifesciences
group advising on a wide range of legal issues from licensing in and out of
pharmaceutical products; advising on and drafting R&D and distribution
agreements; contentious and non-contentious intellectual property related work,
pharmaceutical regulatory law (in particular the application of EU
pharmaceutical legislation, and anti-trust and unfair competition); product
liability claims, and a wide spectrum of associated corporate and commercial
advice relating to the pharmaceutical world.
3. Our clients are sophisticated buyers of legal services, principally
multi-national and entrepreneurial companies and financial institutions, which
we advise on a comprehensive range of matters including corporate finance,
private equity, commercial, real estate, finance, reconstruction and insolvency,
financial services and regulation, intellectual property, investment funds,
litigation and dispute resolution, employment and pensions, EU and competition
and tax.
4. We have won numerous awards for the quality of our work, our attention to
developing our people and our social responsibility. Recent recognition
includes:
· European Law Firm of the Year (Fund Formation) at the Private Equity
International Awards 2008
· Real Estate Team of the Year at the Legal Business Awards 2009
· LBO Team of the Year and Best Overall Law Firm in France at the ACQ Finance
Awards 2008
· Winner - FT Innovative Lawyers Awards 2008 - Responsible Business
· Pro Bono Team of the Year at The Lawyer Awards 2008
· HR Team of the Year and Most Effective Internal Communication at The Lawyer HR
Awards 2009
5. More information on SJ Berwin, including its history, people, services and
activities, can be found at www.sjberwin.com
NicOx (Bloomberg: COX:FP, Reuters: NCOX.PA) is a product-driven
biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development and future
commercialization of investigational drugs for unmet medical needs. NicOx is
applying its proprietary nitric oxide-donating technology to develop an internal
portfolio of New Chemical Entities (NCEs) in the therapeutic areas of
inflammatory and cardio-metabolic disease.
Resources are focused on the development and pre-commercialization activities
for naproxcinod, a proprietary NCE and a first-in-class Cyclooxygenase-Inhibiting
Nitric Oxide-Donating (CINOD) anti-inflammatory agent for the relief of the
signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis. Naproxcinod has completed three pivotal
phase 3 studies with positive results and regulatory submissions are projected
for Q3 2009 for a New Drug Application (NDA) to the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) and Q4 for a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) to
the European Medicines Agency (EMEA).
Beyond naproxcinod, NicOx has a pipeline containing multiple nitric
oxide-donating NCEs, which are in development internally and with partners,
including Merck & Co., Inc., for the treatment of prevalent and underserved
diseases, such as atherosclerosis, hypertension, widespread eye diseases and
respiratory diseases.
NicOx S.A. is headquartered in France and is listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris
(Compartment B: Mid Caps).
http://www.nicox.com
CONTACTS:
NicOx: Karl Hanks Director of Investor Relations and Corporate Communication
Tel +33 (0)4 97 24 53 42 • hanks@nicox.com
Media in the United States – FD Robert Stanislaro • Tel +1 212 850 5657 •
robert.stanislaro@fd.com
Irma Gomez-Dib • Tel +1 212 850 5761 •
irma.gomez-dib@fd.com
Media in Europe – Citigate Dewe Rogerson David Dible • Tel +44 (0)207 282 2949
david.dible@citigatedr.co.uk
Nina Enegren • Tel +44 (0)207 282 1050 •
nina.enegren@citigatedr.co.uk
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