Zeneca Licenses Chirocaine; Invests £15 Million into Chiroscience

Chiroscience Group plc (Cambridge, England) has entered into an agreement to license its long-acting local anaesthetic, Chirocaine, to Zeneca (Manchester, England) on an exclusive and world-wide basis, excluding Japan.

In accordance with a separate share subscription agreement, Zeneca will invest £15 million to acquire 3,529,412 new ordinary Chiroscience shares of 5 pence at a subscription price of £4.25 per share, representing 3.17 percent of the enlarged share capital.

Chirocaine, the trademark for products containing levobupivacaine, was developed by Chiroscience for use in a wide range of surgical procedures, as well as in pain relief during childbirth or in pain management following surgery. Chirocaine has been selected to maintain the desirable potency of the currently favored anaesthetic (bupivacaine) but with an improved safety profile in terms of reduced side effects on the heart and the brain. Submission to the U.S. FDA is planned for April 1998.

Under the new licensing agreement, Chiroscience will be responsible for gaining registration of Chirocaine through the European mutual recognition process and the United States. Zeneca will take on all further marketing responsibilities for Chirocaine, and will invest in a Phase IIIb/IV clinical and marketing program and a regulatory program to register Chirocaine throughout the rest of its territories. Zeneca will also gain exclusive rights to the Chirocaine trademark. Chiroscience will retain the right to manufacture the active pharmaceutical ingredient, levobupivacaine, as well as all Japanese rights and rights to other uses of levobupivacaine, such as with the PowderJect injection system and in office-based dentistry.

"This deal confirms our commitment to expanding our hospital franchise and anaesthetic business," said Dr. Tom McKillop, chief executive of Zeneca. "We believe that Chirocaine is the 'best in class' long acting local anaesthetic and its medical and health economic benefits will promote extended use in both surgery and pain management."

Edited by Beth Brindle