Sygnis and Dr Reddy’s sign supply agreement for stroke drug

The agreement secures the supply of AX200 far beyond the clinical development and provides a solid basis for the envisaged marketing of the compound.

Sygnis successfully completed a Phase IIa clinical trial of AX200 in September that demonstrated safety and efficacy in patients with acute stroke. In the second half of 2008, Sygnis plans to start a Phase IIb efficacy trial in acute stroke with AX200 supplied by Dr Reddy’s.

Alfred Bach, CEO of Sygnis, said: “Our collaboration with Dr Reddy’s represents an important milestone in the development of AX200 which we believe has potential to significantly improve the treatment perspective for millions of patients globally. The long-term access to secure production sources for AX200 is a major step on Sygnis’s way to becoming a product-focused company. This provides us with the flexibility to optimize our marketing strategy for this product. The fact that Dr Reddy’s entered into this collaboration also reflects their confidence in the enormous potential of AX200.”

Cartikeya Reddy, head of biologics at Dr Reddy’s, added: “Biopharmaceutical services is a fast-growing business segment globally with a limited number of service providers. Our strategic decision to exclusively produce a biological molecule for a partner is a first in the history of Dr Reddy’s and fits very well within our custom pharmaceutical services’ business model. We are very optimistic that AX200 will continue to show real potential in the treatment of acute stroke with the potential to be used in the treatment of other degenerative neurological diseases.”