Katama to develop Sanochemia pain reliever in North America

As part of the agreement, Katama will initially develop tolperisone to treat acute, painful muscle spasms.

Tolperisone has a new dual mechanism of action that acts on the peripheral neural system as well as in the spinal cord and brainstem to relieve muscular cramps.

Katama president and CEO Jeff Raser was quoted by Fierce Biotech as saying that based on market research and patient use data, physicians and patients have expressed a preference for tolperisone formulae.

"We are excited to launch Katama with this lead product and an experienced team who have successfully developed, gained regulatory approval for and commercialized numerous CNS drugs," Raser added.

Katama is expected to file a New Drug Application (NDA) for the product within three years.

As part of the agreement, Katama has acquired the rights to all tolperisone products and intellectual property currently or in the future developed or secured by Sanochemia, in addition to North American marketing and sales rights.

As part of the contract, both the companies have formed a joint venture to clinically develop the product.

Sanochemia, as part of the agreement, will also manufacture the product for Katama during the contract period.