Biocon has succeeded in its efforts to acquire the assets of the US-based Nobex Corporation. A Sale Hearing was conducted on March 20, in Bankrutpcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware. The Court has approved the sale of Nobex' assets to Biocon as well as a settlement of claims asserted against Biocon by the Nobex Creditors Committee, Charles L Dimmler, III, chairman, Nobex Corporation told Pharmabiz.

Biocon made an opening stalking horse bid of $3.5 million to acquire the assets of Nobex before the auction. Sources told Pharmabiz that Biocon emerged as the final bidder, bidding $ 5.7 million in the auction and was approved by Court for acquiring Nobex's assets.

Biocon and Nobex had entered into an investment agreement in October 2004 as well as an oral insulin joint development agreement for development and commercialisation of an oral insulin product. Biocon has been focused on leveraging its peptide production capabilities with Nobex Corp's proprietary oral peptide-delivery technology for the treatment of diabetes. Nobex was also working with Biocon to develop an oral peptide product referred to as the human brain type natriuretic peptide programme to treat CAD (cardiovascular disorders).

The auction generated interest from private equity firms and companies with an interest in protein drug development or drug delivery. Selected assets that were available for purchase include IN-105, an oral insulin for type 2 diabetes; BN-054, an oral B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) for cardiovascular disease; Oratonin, an oral calcitonin in phase 1 trials for osteoporosis; and APAZA, an oral small molecule drug in phase 1/2 trials for inflammatory bowel disease. The first three assets utilise the company's technology for the oral delivery of protein and peptide drugs, which could transform the therapeutic use for many peptide drugs enhancing clinical outcomes and improving economic efficiencies in the healthcare system.

Nobex' s IP portfolio was one of the biopharmaceutical industry's pre-eminent IP portfolios in the area of structural transformation of naturally occurring peptides of therapeutic utility to improve physicochemical and biological properties for any route of administration.

The US-based company has earlier demonstrated technical proof of concept of its proprietary medicinal chemistry through phase I and phase II clinical data, showing biological activity via oral administration in man with two modified peptide molecules- calcitonin and insulin.

Nobex earlier filed for bankruptcy protection on Dec 1, 2005 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, after 12 years of research operations and developing a portfolio of approximately 300 patents and patent applications, including several product candidates that have been in clinical study.