Bioxel reaches Europe with taxane-based drug
several orders for its paclitaxel product - a taxane-based drug
effective to treat cancer - from two European customers
representing a total of CAD$630,000 (€420,000).
This announcement illustrates the company's recent efforts to reach further the European market as the company is eager to strengthen its commercial presence in Europe and to broaden its customer base.
"These repeated paclitaxel orders underscore Bioxel's success in developing the European market," said Pascal Delmas, president and chief executive officer of Bioxel Pharma.
"Having high quality product available for immediate delivery and at a competitive price makes Bioxel the taxane supplier of choice."
Taxane-based drugs accounted for worldwide sales of approximately $5bn (€3.7bn) in 2005, driven by a demand for the treatment of cancer and other diseases, including psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer's disease and cardiovascular disease.
Bioxel currently manufactures and sells naturally-sourced paclitaxel to drug companies focusing on anti-cancer therapies and to generic manufacturers. Its current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) unit is located at its US site.
These new orders come weeks after the firm announced the filing of a second international patent application to secure the synthesis of paclitaxel as well as another taxane, decetaxel.
This was the second of two key patents that describe the full synthesis of paclitaxel and docetaxel from common starting material isolated during Bioxel's current natural paclitaxel manufacturing process.
This latest patent is aimed at protecting the company's unique synthesis processes and intermediates leading to these two taxane ingredients.
Since docetaxel and decetaxel can only be manufactured through a semi-synthetic route, it represents a challenge for generic drugmakers because the route of synthesis and the corresponding intermediates are well protected by the originator.
With its manufacturing processes secured, the company expects sales of paclitaxel to yield recurring revenues and further growth in 2007, thanks to the expansion of its presence on the global market and also to the diversification of its customer base.
Bioxel has a facility located in the US which is dedicated to the manufacturing of paclitaxel and has a 120 kg annual capacity.
The Quebec-based company, which specialises in the manufacture of taxane active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), also develops targeted oncology drugs.
Earlier this month it filed its paclitaxel European Drug Master File (EDMF) in an additional four EU countries and also in Russia, bringing to 15 the total number of countries in which it markets or plans to market its paclitaxel.
