News

Posted On: 02/27/2007

Dermatrends Announces Contract with Teikoku Pharma To Study Transdermal Application of Anti-Psychotic Drug

PharmaManufacturing.com

Dermatrends, Inc., a Minneapolis-based drug delivery company, announced Feb. 27 that it has entered into an agreement with Teikoku Pharma USA to develop a prototype patch formulation for the transdermal delivery of a widely used anti-psychotic pharmaceutical compound.

Under terms of the agreement, Dermatrends will be providing the drug delivery technology for transdermal delivery of an anti-psychotic drug that was selected by Teikoku. Dermatrends will utilize its standardized developmental process for effective transdermal delivery. While there are no assurances that Teikoku and Dermatrends will subsequently enter into a joint development or licensing agreement, Dermatrends CEO Ted Schwarzrock said he is optimistic about prospects for positive results from the development of this prototype.

Schwarzrock said, "We have produced positive efficacy results for many of our products, including similar compounds to the one we are testing for Teikoku. Our mission is to help demonstrate Dermatrends’ patented hydroxide releasing agent (HRA) technology can be combined with the chosen active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) to produce a proprietary pharmaceutical product for our new partner. There are millions of people who rely on anti-psychotic medication but who cannot be relied upon to take their oral dosage without supervision. Transdermal delivery of this drug represents a large untapped market, Schwarzrock continued. “We believe that transdermal delivery could be a preferred method of delivery for many patients and their caregivers, representing an important new market opportunity."

Anti-psychotics are part of the broad category of drugs treating the central nervous system (CNS), drugs that constitute the second largest therapeutic category of ethical drugs and include anti-psychotic agents, anti-depressants, anti-schizophrenic agents, and other drugs. Retail sales in the U.S. of ethical anti-psychotic drugs were $10.47 billion for the 12 months ended in October 2006, according to a recent report by IMS Health.

Teikoku Pharma USA is a subsidiary of the Japanese company Teikoku Seiyaku Co., Ltd. More information can be found at www.Teikokuusa.com. For more about Dermatrends, visit www.dermatrends.com.