YORK, Pa., Oct. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Unilife
Corporation (NASDAQ: UNIS and ASX: UNS), a developer and supplier
of injectable drug delivery systems, announced today the signing of
a worldwide Master Services and Commercial Supply Agreement with
Sanofi to be the sole provider of cartridge based wearable
injectors for all of Sanofi's applicable large dose volume drugs,
excluding insulins, for a minimum 15 years. Additionally the
agreement will allow Sanofi to make Unilife's wearable injectors
available to its partners for use with applicable molecules under
joint collaborations.
Unilife has granted Sanofi non-exclusive access to its wearable
injector technology during the agreement. Unilife maintains the
right to enter into supply agreements with other pharmaceutical
companies for the use of its wearable injectors, so long as
Sanofi's non-exclusive access is preserved. Sanofi also has the
option to extend the agreement for additional periods. In addition
to an upfront payment and device sales, Unilife anticipates it will
receive approximately $50 million
from customization programs relating to Sanofi molecules and
indications. Additional revenue is also expected from customization
programs conducted under joint collaborations with Sanofi partners.
Unilife will begin to generate revenue from Sanofi this fiscal year
from an upfront payment, customization programs and initial
commercial sales of the devices to Sanofi. Unilife and Sanofi will
also collaborate in the development of other new technologies that
address additional unmet or emerging needs for the delivery of
large dose volume biologics. Additional information will remain
confidential at this time.
Mr. Alan Shortall, Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer of Unilife said: "Unilife continues to
advance our lead position in the fast-growing market for wearable
injectors, a market which is expected to generate $8 billion in sales at an average $25 per unit by 2025. Based upon public
information and industry forecasts, Unilife estimates that Sanofi
has between 5 to 10 molecules that will be delivered in wearable
injectors. With many pharmaceutical companies having up to a dozen
large dose volume biologics that will each require an average of
five million units per drug per year, our wearable injectors are
poised to generate substantial revenue and growth moving forward.
Additionally, we anticipate substantial incremental revenue will be
generated from customization programs conducted under joint
collaborations with Sanofi partners that choose to participate,"
Mr. Shortall concluded.
Unilife Platform of Wearable Injectors
The Precision-Therapy™ platform of disposable wearable injectors
can be worn on the body of a patient during the subcutaneous
administration of a large dose volume drug. Unilife's wearable
injectors can be prefilled, pre-assembled and ready to use, with
only three intuitive steps for a patient to peel off the label,
stick the product onto the body and click a button to commence the
injection of a drug (Peel, Stick and Click™). Unilife wearable
injectors require no terminal sterilization, utilize standard
materials in the primary drug container and are supplied for
seamless integration with standard filling and packaging systems.
Products can be pre-configured to administer a measured dose volume
over a designated period of time, typically ranging between one and
thirty minutes. Unilife wearable injectors utilize a Flexwear™
comfort catheter for patient comfort, and an on-body safety lock
that prevents unintentional activation.
The Global Market for Wearable Injectors
Wearable injectors are prefilled, disposable devices that are
worn on the body of a patient during the subcutaneous
administration of a large volume dose of medication. The market for
wearable injectors is poised to experience rapid growth over the
coming decade due to a convergence of market trends including
accelerating pharmaceutical investment in biologics requiring large
volume doses, and the shift of healthcare treatment from healthcare
facilities to safe, simple and convenient self-injection by
patients. According to the independent market research report Large
Volume Wearable Injectors published by Roots Analysis in
September 2014, it is estimated that
the market for wearable injectors will generate up to $8 billion in sales by 2025, with 181
biologics across 14 disease areas identified for use with wearable
injectors. The average selling price for a wearable injector is
estimated to be on average between $25 and
$35 per unit.
About Unilife Corporation
Unilife Corporation (NASDAQ: UNIS / ASX: UNS) is a U.S. based
developer and commercial supplier of injectable drug delivery
systems. Unilife's portfolio of innovative, differentiated products
includes prefilled syringes with automatic needle retraction, drug
reconstitution delivery systems, auto-injectors, wearable
injectors, ocular delivery systems and novel systems. Products
within each platform are customizable to address specific customer,
drug and patient requirements. Unilife's global headquarters and
manufacturing facilities are located in York, PA. For more information, visit
www.unilife.com or download the Unilife IRapp on your iPhone, iPad
or Android device.
General: UNIS-G
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. All
statements that address operating performance, events or
developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future
are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking
statements are based on management's beliefs and assumptions and on
information currently available to our management. Our management
believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable as
and when made. However, you should not place undue reliance on any
such forward-looking statements because such statements speak only
as of the date when made. We do not undertake any obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether
as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except
as required by law. In addition, forward-looking statements are
subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results, events and developments to differ materially from our
historical experience and our present expectations or projections.
These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to,
those described in "Item 1A. Risk Factors" and elsewhere
in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and those
described from time to time in other reports which we file with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
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SOURCE Unilife Corporation