Penwest Pharmaceuticals Co. has signed a collaboration agreement with Pharmaceutics International Inc. (PII) under which PII has agreed to conduct formulation work for Penwest and third parties for drugs using Penwest's proprietary oral drug delivery technologies, TIMERx, Geminex and Syncrodose. This agreement represents an expansion of Penwest's technology licensing strategy, which the company expects will provide Penwest with additional collaboration opportunities while allowing it to maintain its internal focus on developing products for disorders of the nervous system.

The strategic goal of this collaboration is to continue to leverage the Company's established drug delivery expertise while supporting Penwest's transition to a specialty pharmaceutical company. Under the agreement, PII may conduct formulation work for drugs being developed by either Penwest or third parties which license Penwest's drug delivery technologies.

PII may also independently identify new product development opportunities for this collaboration. Under the collaboration, Penwest and PII have agreed to jointly review opportunities for licensing Penwest's oral drug delivery technologies to third parties and may conduct the formulation work for such third parties provided that these programs do not conflict with Penwest's internal programs. PII has agreed to assume primary responsibility for formulation development with technical guidance and oversight from Penwest and may assume responsibility for clinical trial material manufacturing and commercial manufacturing.

Jennifer Good, Penwest's President and CEO said, "We are pleased to enter into this collaboration with PII. Since the approval and launch of Opana ER, we have received inquiries from a number of parties regarding licensing our drug development technologies, which we believe confirms that the core TIMERx technologies remain attractive to companies pursuing brand management strategies for their own products. We believe this new agreement leverages the value of our drug delivery technologies while allowing us to continue to focus on building our own pipeline. We look forward to working with PII to grow this part of our business."

Penwest is a specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to bringing to the marketplace innovative products that help improve the lives of patients. The company's goal is to identify, develop and commercialize prescription products that address unmet medical needs, primarily for diseases of the nervous system.