US-based Acura Pharmaceuticals has signed a license agreement to provide its Aversion Technology to KemPharm to use with its existing and in-development immediate release (IR) opioid product candidates.
Aversion Technology is composed of commonly used active and inactive pharmaceutical ingredients providing abuse deterrent features (ADF) and benefits for pharmaceutical drug products that are orally administered.
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Under the agreement, Acura will receive $3.5 million at execution, while KemPharm will get development and commercialisation rights for up to three IR product candidates that contain two of KemPharm's opioid prodrugs.
KemPharm president and CEO Travis Mickle said: "Acura's Aversion Technology, an FDA-approved aversive ADF approach without a food effect, and KP201/IR, our priority lead product candidate, together offer significant potential benefits.
"We believe today's agreement will help us bridge the regulatory approval process between current abuse deterrence products and the ability of our new molecular entity prodrugs to demonstrate their ADF properties."
Additional payments are made if KemPharm exercises its option to use Acura's technology with more than the three products.
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By GlobalDataAcura president Bob Jones said: "We are excited to partner with KemPharm who, like us, is committed to address the problem of prescription opioid abuse.
"We believe KemPharm shares our objective of aggressively developing and bringing to the healthcare community new abuse deterrent IR opioid analgesics to treat pain."
