Novopharm Biotech In Major Negotiations

Novopharm Biotech of Canada has announced that it is in the final stages of negotiating a long-term worldwide agreement with a major multinational pharmaceutical company for the development, sale and distribution of biopharmaceutical products. First revenues from the sale of these products are expected within two years.

Michael Dan, chief executive of NB, said: "the company intends to leverage off the successful core business of its parent company, Novopharm Ltd, and create lasting value for its shareholders at a very low marginal cost. Funding for the innovative research program at NB will remain unchanged."

He continued that results of early clinical trials with the firm's first generation of products have been very encouraging, and a new generation of recombinant products is rapidly moving through scale-up and preclinical testing, with filing expected with the US Food and Drug Administration in the first quarter of 1997. The firm has also applied for a listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange.