Intec and Impax to collaborate on CNS drug

Jerusalem-based Intec will develop and manufacture the drug using the Accordion Pill technology, while California-based Impax will conduct clinical trials and commercialize the product. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Intec claims its Accordion pill technology has the potential to transform drugs that need to be taken as much as four times a day into one-a-day pills that improve patient compliance and reduce unwanted side effects.

The technology works by improving the absorption and blood level profile of selected drugs by increasing the amount of time the active ingredients are held in the gastrointestinal system.

Using this technology, Intec has begun to develop a series of supergeneric drug products, while hoping to transform numerous existing drugs into more powerful therapies.

“The signing of this agreement is an important step in our two-pronged business strategy aimed at creating a whole new generation of drugs. In addition to developing our own pipeline products we will be licensing out our proprietary technology to strategic partners on a project-by-project basis,” said Efi Cohen-Arazi, CEO of Intec Pharma.

Under the terms of the agreement Intec Pharma will develop and supply the new product, which is based on a known compound. The application of Intec's Accordion pill gastric retention technology is expected to improve the pharmacokinetics of the compound and create a more effective and safe therapy thus improving patient response.