Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a type of pulmonary fibrosis, is a progressive disorder affecting approximately 200,000 Americans and over five million people worldwide. According to the estimates of the National Foundation of Pulmonary Fibrosis, about 40,000 Americans die each year of this disease.
Currently, the typical treatment consists of systemic steroids to reduce inflammation and immuno-suppressants to attempt to slow disease progression. The disease progression is characterized as the gradual replacement of healthy lung tissue with substantial scarring. The preclinical studies performed at NIH, FDA and at University of Michigan, appear to be promising, including preliminary evidence of the reversal of the disease and its scarring in the animal models of IPF when cintredekin besudotox is administered as a nebulized product.
“We are excited to announce the signing of this agreement, which we believe will allow Neopharm to further capitalize on the intellectual property it has previously developed to work toward developing a suitable and effective treatment option for the millions suffering from this disease,” commented Laurence Birch, president and CEO of Neopharm.