Kamada holds transferrin supply monopoly
undisclosed European pharma firm embarking on the first ever
clinical trials of a drug that includes the substance.
Under the ILS 1m (€200,000) contract, Kamada will supply clinical trial standard quantities of transferrin to be used in an investigational cancer treatment.
Transferrin is a protein naturally found in the plasma, that transfers iron through the bloodstream to the organs, such as the liver and bone marrow.
There is evidence suggesting that transferrin might also be useful in transporting drugs, especially to cancer cells, and several firms are now working on new cancer drugs based on transferrin as a drug delivery mechanism.
Kamada, who has been the largest supplier of transferrin for these development efforts so far, believes it is the only company that can currently supply the industry with transferrin at the quality and quantity needed for use in human clinical trials.
"A drug undergoing human clinical trials requires a much higher quality and quantity of raw materials than those used in preclinical trials and all companies developing transferrin-based drugs are now dependent on us," said Kamada CEO David Tsur.
"We are also dependent on them - only if their trials succeed will a huge market for the product develop."
So as the first transferrin-based cancer compound finally enters the clinic, Kamada can only wait and see if the drug will prove successful and its monopoly will continue.
