Elan, Abbott sign licensing deal to use NanoCrystal technology to combine cholesterol drugs

By E. Janene Geiss

Philadelphia, July 6 - Elan Corp., plc said Thursday that it has entered into a license agreement with Abbott Laboratories in which Abbott has been granted U.S. rights, in a partnership with AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, to use Elan's proprietary NanoCrystal technology to develop and commercialize a single fixed-dose combination product containing the active pharmaceutical ingredients in Abbott's TriCor 145 (fenofibrate) and AstraZeneca's Crestor (rosuvastatin calcium) products.

Under the agreement, Elan said it will receive payments upon the achievement of development, clinical and regulatory milestones for such new combination product, according to a company news release.

Additionally, Elan said it will receive royalty payments based on U.S. sales of the combination product, if successfully developed and commercialized.

Under the agreement, Elan's NanoCrystal technology may be used in the combination product to optimize bioavailability and absorption in patients.

TriCor 145 and Crestor are both currently marketed and used to treat adults with high cholesterol.

TriCor, part of a class of medications called fibrates, has been shown to predominately reduce triglycerides, a form of fat or lipid obtained through food sources, raise HDL cholesterol and lower LDL cholesterol.

Crestor is part of a class of medications called statins, which have been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol.

The successful combination of the two products into one oral dosage form could provide patients with a single treatment, officials said.

Presently, health care professionals are advised to consider carefully the benefits of the combined use of fibrate and statin drugs, in light of concerns regarding potentially serious side effects that could lead to acute renal failure.

Rigorous clinical study of these agents in combination to evaluate their safety and efficacy is important for patients and warranted, and could produce an important new comprehensive cholesterol treatment tool for physicians, officials said.

Elan's NanoCrystal technology is a drug optimization technology enabling solubility effectively for many poorly water-soluble compounds.

Abbott is an Abbott Park, Ill., pharmaceutical company.

AstraZeneca is a London-based biopharmaceutical company.

Elan is a Dublin, Ireland, neuroscience-based biotechnology company.

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