Bioxel Pharma to supply cGMP paclitaxel ’to coat coronary stents’
Bioxel Pharma Inc. reveals a 5-year supply agreement with Cook Inc. and two new customers, including BioSyntech, Inc. to use in a sustained release formulation.
Bioxel Pharma Inc. based in Sainte-Foy, Québec, is a leading manufacturer of naturally derived taxanes. It has entered into a 5-year cGMP paclitaxel supply agreement with Cook Inc. and has completed sales of cGMP paclitaxel to two new customers, including BioSyntech, Inc.
Paul Metz, President of Bioxel International, the US division of Bioxel Pharma responsible for sales and marketing of taxane products, welcomed Cook’s "innovative use of paclitaxel coated onto coronary stents" highlighting the versatility and potential broad application of taxane.
Metz sees Montreal-based BioSyntech’s discovery of a unique sustained release formulation of paclitaxel as "evidence of a continuing effort to improve the state-of-the-art for paclitaxel based anti-cancer drugs."
Kem Hawkins, President, Cook Inc. disclosed plans "to increase Cook’s use of paclitaxel" as more applications for this promising medical technology are developed and approved.
Cook, as leader in the development of polymer-free paclitaxel coating technology for coronary stents and other medical devices, needed to expand its source options for paclitaxel.
Bioxel plans to supply cGMP paclitaxel for use in Cook’s V-Flex™ Plus PTX Coronary Stent System, which was recently approved for sale in the European Union.
Bioxel’s cGMP paclitaxel will also be used in further pre-clinical development of BioSyntech’s Pacligel™ for the treatment of breast cancer and prostate cancer. Bioxel also recorded sales from a new, US based paclitaxel formulation developer with technology for polymer based drug delivery.
Pierre Lacroix, President and CEOof Bioxel outlined his company’s business strategy "to expand manufacturing capacity to meet customer demand."
Bioxel is on track to expand taxane manufacturing capacity in 2003, bringing the company closer to its goal of becoming a leading independent supplier of paclitaxel and other taxane products."
On November 8, 2002, Bioxel filed a preliminary prospectus for a public offering of common shares in Canada. Net proceeds of the offering will be used to support investments in Bioxel’s large-scale manufacturing process, to finance research and development activities, to repay a bridge loan and for working capital and other general corporate purposes.
Keywords : Bioxel Cook cGMP Paclitaxel Taxane manufacture Coated stent BioSyntech sustained release formulation
