NeuroVive Pharmaceutical AB, a leading mitochondrial medicine company, has signed a collaboration agreement with Isomerase Therapeutics to develop the molecules that were recently acquired from Biotica. In addition, the company's Asian subsidiary has received the first milestone payment from Sihuan Pharmaceutical, the company's collaboration partner in China.

Both the companies signed the collaboration for product development and commercialization of cyclophilin-inhibiting molecules that were recently acquired from Biotica Ltd. This will focus on cellular protection for traumatic brain injury and heart attack, as well as the new product NVP018/BC556 for antiviral indications. Isomerase Therapeutics was founded by three members of Biotica´s former senior management team, including the former Chief Scientific Officer, who have experience working with the molecules acquired by NeuroVive earlier this year. Development work will begin during the summer.

NeuroVive's subsidiary NeuroVive Pharmaceutical Asia Ltd. has received the first milestone payment from Sihuan Pharmaceutical, the company´s collaboration partner for the development and distribution of the products CicloMulsion and NeuroSTAT in the Chinese market. The payment shows that NeuroVive´s strategy for the Chinese market is working according to plan. The work also continues on completing an application to the Chinese healthcare regulation agency (CFDA) for a clinical trial on CicloMulsion in China. No financial details regarding the payment are being disclosed due to contractual confidentiality.

According to an existing collaboration agreement, NeuroVive´s Chinese subsidiary NeuroVive Pharmaceutical Asia Ltd. is entitled to upfront and milestone payments from Sihuan regarding CicloMulsion and NeuroSTAT totaling 35 million and 12 million yuan, respectively. Sihuan will also pay an annual royalty of 10 per cent of the net profits for the two products during the first ten years after market approval.

NeuroVive's work in China is carried out through its subsidiary company NeuroVive Pharmaceutical Asia Ltd., co-owned by Foundation Asia Pacific Ltd. (FAP). FAP's owner share is 30 per cent of the company, and in return NeuroVive is given access to marketing resources and a valuable business network, both of great importance to any foreign company working to establish business in China. The emphasis on positioning NeuroVive in the Chinese market is expected to accelerate during the coming years, and FAP will play a key role in this process. This first milestone payment will be used primarily for NeuroVive´s Asian business.

Mikael Brönnegård, CEO of NeuroVive Pharmaceutical AB said, “I am very pleased to be able to present these two news items that indicate the strong development phase currently being undertaken by NeuroVive. The first payment from Sihuan shows that our work in China has been successful so far, and that our collaboration partner is delivering on its promises. At the same time, the collaboration agreement with Isomerase Therapeutics around the molecules recently acquired from Biotica marks the beginning of a broadening of our product portfolio. This effort will strengthen NeuroVive´s position in mitochondrial medicine and further our efforts to develop products for a larger number of medical conditions.”

Isomerase Therapeutics is a drug discovery biotech company which offers drug discovery and development services for companies looking to develop microbial natural products into drugs, using its unique bioengineering services supported by a portfolio of technology IP and the combined experience of a core scientific team from over a decade of successful drug discovery and development collaborations with Pharma and Biotech.

Sihuan Pharmaceutical is the fourth-largest pharmaceutical company in China’s prescription drug market, and has one of the country's largest teams in research and development of pharmaceutical drugs.

NeuroVive Pharmaceutical AB, a leading mitochondrial medicine company, is developing a portfolio of products to treat acute cardiovascular and neurological conditions through mitochondrial protection.