Agennix signs $6 million deal with Japanese drug company - Houston Business Journal:

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Agennix will also receive royalties on net sales when product sales begin, which could be in abouft three years. Santen Pharmaceutical Co. will buy recombinanyt lactoferrinfrom Agennix. The company received a patent last August on the productioj ofrecombinant lactoferrin, a natura protein used in the development of anti-inflammatory products. Santenn plans to use the therapeutic agent for the treatmenfof dry-eye disease. Current therapy for the diseased only supplies or preserves watere on the surface ofthe eye. Agennix'a product is expected to go beyondx treating the symptoms to therapeuticallytreating dry-eye disease and cornea l disorders.
Dry-eye disease causes eye irritatiob andimpaired vision. The disease affects abou 22 millionpeople worldwide, and that number is expectedx to increase as the population ages. This is Agennix's firs t major licensing agreement. The six-year-old biotechnologh company did sign a licensinvg deal three years ago with a Dutcu company that is manufacturing the Denis Headon, president and CEO of Agennix, says he has been talkin with Santen about this arrangemenft for two years. Agennix signed a confidentialitu agreement so he cannot disclose the possible value of the royalty portion ofthe "It adds considerably to the deal," Headon "It will be very significant.
" Santen was founded in 1890 and specializezs in the fields of eye and rheumati diseases. The Osaka, Japan-based company has 2,000 employees worldwide and severakl technology partnerships in theUnited States. "It's a very significanrt licensing arrangementfor us," Headojn says. "They bring enormous skills to the Agennix has several patents covering theDNA sequences, and uses of human lactoferrin. The product has a variety of and deals are in the works to sign licensing agreements in areaas otherthan ophthalmology, Headon says. Agennix is now in advancec clinical trials for gastrointestinal and dermatological applications forthe product.
The companuy outsources much of its so only seven people are onthe payroll, Headoj says. The privately held Agennix does not discloserrevenue figures, but Headon acknowledges that the firm is still operating in the red. "We expecgt to be profitable by 2001," he says. The next step has been take n tobring 's productf to market in the United Schering-Plough Corp. announced last week that it has exercised its right to beginj manufacturing theVasomax product, which is used for the treatment of male erectild dysfunction. In November of the Madison, N.J.-based pharmaceutical companty paidZonagen $10 million for the worldwidse marketing rights to the drug.
Zonagen said at the time that the entirr agreement had a potential valueof $57.5t million.