Biopharmaceutical company Radius Health and 3M Drug Delivery Systems have joined in an exclusive partnership for the development and commercialisation of BA058-transdermal (TD), it was announced today.
This new agreement updates the general development agreement announced in May 2011 by the two companies for BA058-TD.
BA058-transdermal (TD) is currently being studied in a Phase 2 clinical trial involving healthy postmenopausal women with osteoporosis in ten clinical centres. BA058-TD is a short-wear time patch based on 3M’s patented Microstructured Transdermal System technology.
3M Drug Delivery Systems hopes the transdermal patch will be shown to offer ease of use, convenience and self-administration advantages of a patch with the bone building efficacy of the BA058 compound.
BA058 is a novel, synthetic proprietary peptide analog of human parathyroid hormone related protein also known as "hither", a bone building anabolic compound that has the potential to treat patients with osteoporosis who are at a high risk of fracture.
Radius president and chief executive officer Michael Wyzga said: "We are excited that 3M Drug Delivery Systems, which has long demonstrated a commitment to quality, safety and innovation, is partnering with us to bring a novel approach of drug delivery to the underserved osteoporosis patient population.
"Our study data for BA058-TD showed that a five-minute wear time of the patch delivers peak drug levels consistent with subcutaneous injection and we hope to see increased patient compliance with 3M’s innovative technology."
Currently, BA058 is also being studied as a daily subcutaneous injection (BA058-SC) in a Phase 3 study of 2,400 patients for fracture prevention in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis who have a high risk of fracture.
In the Phase 2 human testing of the injectable BA058-SC it was shown that BA058 can significantly increase bone mineral density (BMD) at the lumbar spine and femoral neck – a common osteoporotic fracture site located in the hip joint – after just six months of therapy.
3M Drug Delivery Systems has partnered with pharmaceutical companies worldwide for more than 50 years.
