Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc and Milestone Biosciences, LLC (Milestone) announced the signing of a definitive license agreement under which, Milestone will market Access' proprietary product MuGard in the United States and Canada.
Milestone is a company recently started by former executives and sales representatives of companies with an established commercial presence in oncology, including MGI Pharma, Amgen and Genentech. MuGard is used for the management of oral mucositis, a debilitating side effect of many anticancer chemotherapy and radiation treatments, and has already received marketing allowance from the US Food and Drug Administration.
Under the terms of the agreement, Milestone will pay Access upfront license fees and subsequent milestone payments that total $10 million along with a double digit royalty upon commercialization of MuGard. Milestone expects to launch MuGard in the US early in the first quarter of 2009.
"We are pleased to have Milestone as our North American partner for MuGard," said Jeffrey B Davis, president & CEO of Access. "Milestone has assembled a team of very experienced pharmaceutical executives with a great track record of commercial success in oncology supportive care, including experience with the oral mucositis market and related chronic dry mouth market. We are excited and confident that this team of experienced executives will successfully launch and commercialize MuGard."
"MuGard is an important product for Milestone as it gives us a tremendous near term product around which to launch and further grow our sales team. We believe there is a significant un-met medical need for MuGard with solid commercial sales potential," stated Eric Loukas, CEO of Milestone. "Our seasoned commercial team is excited about the potential for MuGard in the oral mucositis marketplace. We look forward to a long and productive relationship with Access with MuGard, and the potential opportunity to work with them on other products as well."
MuGard is a ready-to-use mucoadhesive oral wound rinse. The mucoadhesive formulation forms a protective coating over the oral mucosa when washed around the mouth. In a comparison of cancer patients receiving standard mucositis care with those patients using MuGard, the incidence and severity of mucositis was significantly lower in the MuGard treated group.
Milestone Biosciences, LLC is a privately held specialty biotech company with offices in Florida, Minnesota and New Jersey, that focuses on in-licensing and commercializing niche oncology products that would otherwise have limited exposure in the oncology marketplace.
Access Pharmaceuticals, Inc is an emerging biopharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes propriety products for the treatment and supportive care of cancer patients.