BRIEF—BIAL and Recipharm expand opicapone deal

Portuguese pharma company BIAL and Swedish contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO), Recipharm (STO: RECI-B), have have expanded a long term agreement for the global manufacturing and supply of opicapone.

The API being manufactured at Recipharm’s facility in Cramlington, UK is used to formulate BIAL’s Ongentys product, an adjunctive therapy used to treat patients with Parkinson’s disease.

The expansion of the agreement follows the successful market authorization application for Japan in June, with the product officially launching to the Japanese market in late August.

Meanwhile, BIAL has announced that it has established a new affiliate in the USA, BIAL Biotech Investments. This new research center focused on genetically-defined Parkinson’s disease is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.