Ferrer licenses Canadian rights for ozenoxacin to Cipher Pharma

Privately-held Spanish pharmaceutical company Ferrer says it has licensed commercialization rights for ozenoxacin 1% cream in Canada to local drugmaker Cipher Pharmaceuticals (TSX: DND).

Under the terms of the agreement Ferrer will receive an undisclosed upfront payment and is eligible for development milestones and revenues from product sales in Canada. Further financial terms were not disclosed. This is the second licensing agreement for Ferrer for ozenoxacin.

Last year, Ferrer licensed commercialization rights for ozenoxacin one per cent cream in the USA, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands to US specialty drugmaker Medimetriks Pharmaceuticals (The Pharma Letter March 24, 2014). The product is available for licensing worldwide from Ferrer, except in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the USA and Canada.

Positive Ph III trial results

In 2013 Ferrer successfully completed a first Phase III clinical trial of ozenoxacin in adult and pediatric patients with impetigo. The study demonstrated the superiority of ozenoxacin 1% cream, applied topically twice daily for five days, versus a placebo, on both the clinical and bacteriological endpoints by end of therapy visit. In addition, ozenoxacin demonstrated a superior bacteriological cure compared to placebo by the second visit (day three-four). The trial also demonstrated that ozenoxacin is safe and very well tolerated in the adult and pediatric populations.

“Ferrer is pleased to partner with Cipher to bring ozenoxacin to the Canadian market,” said Antoni Villaró Martín, chief operations officer, adding: “This is the second partnership aimed at maximizing the commercial potential of this novel topical antibiotic.”