Winston Laboratories, Inc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Getting Ready Corporation, announced that on October 30, 2008 it has entered into a licensing agreement with sanofi-aventis Canada Inc. for the Canadian rights to Winston's proprietary transient receptor potential vanilloid (TRPV-1) modulator in formulations for topical application.
On October 29, 2008, Winston filed a new drug submission (NDS) in Canada, for the first product it has developed under its technology, Civanex Cream (civamide 0.075 per cent) for the treatment of signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis. Under the terms of the agreement, sanofi-aventis Canada Inc. owns the rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize civamide cream in Canada along with a second generation cream that is currently in development. In return for granting sanofi-aventis Canada Inc the Canadian rights, Winston will receive an upfront payment, a milestone payment subject to regulatory approval of civamide cream in Canada plus royalties and milestones on net sales in Canada.
"The license agreement with sanofi-aventis Canada Inc. marks an important milestone in the growth and development of our company," said Joel E Bernstein, president & CEO of Winston. "We believe this is a first step in the eventual development of Winston as a leader in the world's pain-control market. We are very pleased to have a company as strong as sanofiaventis Canada Inc. as our partner in this endeavour."
Winston Laboratories focuses on major pain indications as well as on niche markets, where there is still significant unmet need for pain management options with improved efficacy, safety, and tolerability profiles.
Civamide is a patented, synthetically produced TRPV-1 receptor modulator, which selectively depresses the activity of the type-C pain fibers. Civamide causes an initial release of the neuropeptides, substance P (SP) and calcitonin-gene related peptide (CGRP).
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