ReceptoPharm wins first manufacturing contract
The contract, with Irish company Celtic Pharma, is for the supply of clinical trial materials of Celtic’s experimental cancer drug CB-24. The drug candidate is scheduled to start Phase I testing in Europe shortly.
ReceptoPharm, which since April of this year has been wholly-owned by Nutra Pharma, is one of a number of biopharmaceutical companies that try to develop a revenue stream from their manufacturing facilities to offset the costs of developing its own pipeline.
"Expanding our business into outsourced drug production allows ReceptoPharm to fully utilise its GMP-qualified production facilities and provides the company with an additional revenue stream," said Rik Deitsch, chairman and CEO of Nutra Pharma.
"We plan to offer this service to other developmental stage biotechnology firms in addition to continuing our own clinical development initiatives," he added.
ReceptoPharm’s primary business is in developing therapeutic protein products for the prevention and treatment of viral, autoimmune and neurological diseases, and the company’s research is based upon receptor-binding proteins found in natural sources such as cobra venom.
ReceptoPharm's offices, manufacturing, and R&D facilities are located in a single building totalling approximately 5,400 sq. ft. in Plantation, Florida.
Recently, ReceptoPharm announced the completion of a Phase IIb/IIIa clinical trial of RPI-78M, a modified alpha cobtratoxin, in the treatment of adrenomyeloneuropathy. The firm has agreed to supply the drug to participants on a compassionate-use basis after the study concludes. Data from the trial is expected to be published in early 2009.
Its second drug candidate is RPI-MN, a modified cobra venom which inhibits the entry of several viruses that cause neurological damage in diseases such as rabies, encephalitis and HIV.
The manufacturing contract will supply “the necessary quantities of GMP-certified CB-24 required to complete our planned Phase I clinical trial in France," explained John Reid, managing director of Celtic Biotech.
