Kurve Technology and Schering-Plough expand agreement
involving Kurve's nasal drug delivery device, which follows on the
heals of a partnership formed between the two companies last year.
The US-based companies have signed an agreement whereby Schering-Plough will expand its evaluation of Kurve Technology's Controlled Particle Dispersion (CPD) platform with the potential to use the technology for multiple undisclosed therapeutic agents. There is also the option for exclusivity rights to use the device. Kurve Technology chairman and chief executive Marc Giroux said: "We are extremely pleased with Schering-Plough's continued and expanded interest in our nasal delivery technology platforms. "This is another significant step in our efforts of working with pharmaceutical companies to develop the most innovative intranasal drug-device combinations in the industry." CPD technology is touted by the company as an upgrade in the area of intranasal drug delivery because it saturates the entire nasal cavity unlike other nasal drug delivery methods, such as spray pumps or nebulizers. These tend to deposit the drug in the anterior regions of the nasal cavity. The CPD action means peripheral deposition to the lungs and stomach is limited. The technology platform contains six critical-to-function design parameters that enable modification of deposition and droplet characteristics. The result, Kurve claims, is a flexible intranasal technology platform that can deliver virtually any liquid drug regardless of formulation characteristics. The CPD technology is incorporated into Kurve Technology's ViaNase device, a pocket-sized, advanced electronic atomizer and could be used to deliver topical and systemic dugs, nose-to-brain drugs and vaccines via the nose. Kurve estimates that the benefits of its platform means the device has the potential to reach 200 million patients. Last year, Schering-Plough showed a keen interest in Kurve's drug device by entering into a partnership, but the companies refused to reveal the nature of the agreement and still declined to comment on the type or brand of drug or drugs being considered for potential use via Kurve's technology in the new agreement. ViaNase is not yet available for patients but is hoped to be marketable by the end of this year. In the meantime several top unnamed pharmaceutical companies are also evaluating the device. According to Frost and Sullivan Healthcare Group, the intranasal drug delivery market is forecasted to reach $2.1bn this year growing to more than $4bn in 2012. Meanwhile the global market for drug-device combinations is expected to increase by 13.6 per cent annually and reach $11.5bn in 2010.
