MELBOURNE, Australia and
TEL-AVIV, Israel, March 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
Starpharma Holdings Ltd (ASX:SPL; OTCQX: SPHRY) and Makhteshim
Agan Group today announced a collaboration program. This will see
Starpharma's Priostar® dendrimer technology applied to
novel crop protection formulations across Makhteshim Agan's
extensive product portfolio.
Makhteshim Agan is the world's leading manufacturer and
distributor of branded off-patent crop and non-crop protection
products, with 2012 global sales of US$2.83B. Makhteshim Agan serves farmers in 120
countries and operates in Australia as Farmoz.
The collaboration program leverages Makhteshim Agan's broad
product portfolio and extensive formulation capabilities alongside
Starpharma's Priostar® dendrimer technology. The program
includes the development of new formulations of a number of active
ingredients, including three actives with total market sales for
2011, each exceeding $400m globally.
Other terms of the agreement were not disclosed due to commercial
confidentiality restrictions.
"Through this collaboration Starpharma has the opportunity to
further extend the reach of its dendrimer technology in
agrochemicals. This partnership which involves multiple products in
major global markets represents an exciting and valuable commercial
opportunity for our Priostar® dendrimers," said Dr.
Jackie Fairley, CEO Starpharma. "We
look forward to working closely with Makhteshim Agan to produce
exciting new crop protection products."
"Makhteshim Agan strives to offer differentiated solutions
to address growers' needs, based on innovation, quality and value,"
said Sami Shabtai, Head of
Innovative Development at Makhteshim Agan. "We actively seek out
exciting technologies that can complement our in-house capabilities
and market understanding to deliver effective and simple crop
protection solutions."
David Peters, Managing Director
of Farmoz added "As Makhteshim Agan's Australian subsidiary, Farmoz
looks forward to applying Starpharma's dendrimer technology to
complement our effective and reliable Australian portfolio.
Australia is an environment with
unique challenges for agriculture and innovation is an important
component in our strategy for providing the solutions today's
Australian growers need."
The benefits of Starpharma's Priostar® dendrimers to
agrochemical companies and end-user growers can include:
- Improved product efficacy;
- More concentrated formulations to reduce supply chain costs and
for greater ease of handling;
- Reduction in solvent loading; and,
- Improved bioavailability through increased adhesion, to reduce
losses due to rain run-off, and the need for multiple
applications.
In addition to the collaboration with Makhteshim Agan,
Starpharma continues to advance the commercialisation of
Priostar® for crop protection applications through both
its own internal research program and through valued partnerships
with other crop protection companies.
Makhteshim Agan Industries Ltd. is a leading manufacturer and
distributor worldwide of crop-protection solutions and the largest
off-patent player in the industry.
The Company supplies efficient solutions to farmers that assist
them in combating disease and increasing yields. In 2012, the
Company's revenues were over $2.83
billion, and it is ranked seventh in the world in the
overall agro-chemicals industry. The Company is characterized by
its know-how, high-level technological-chemical abilities,
expertise in product registration, and observance of strict
standards of environmental protection, stringent quality control
and global marketing and distribution channels.
Makhteshim Agan Group sells its crop protection products in over
120 countries and together with its strategically located global
manufacturing and distribution facilities delivers simplicity in
agriculture around the globe.
Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX:SPL, OTCQX:SPHRY) is an ASX 300
company and is a world leader in the development of dendrimer
products for pharmaceutical, life science and other
applications.
Starpharma's underlying technology is built around dendrimers -
a type of synthetic nanoscale polymer that is highly regular in
size and structure and well suited to pharmaceutical and other
uses. Starpharma has three core development programs:
VivaGel® portfolio, drug delivery and agrochemicals with
the Company developing a number of products internally and others
via commercial partnerships.
In Agrochemicals Starpharma has series of industry partnerships
with leading industry players including Nufarm (ASX:NUF) as well as
with internal programs including an enhanced version of glyphosate
(the active ingredient in Roundup®).
Starpharma's lead pharmaceutical product is VivaGel®
(SPL7013 Gel), a gel-based formulation of a proprietary dendrimer.
VivaGel® is under clinical development for the treatment
and prevention of bacterial vaginosis (BV).
Starpharma has also signed separate licence agreements with
Ansell Limited (ASX:ANN) and Okamoto Industries Inc (Tokyo Stock
Exchange) to market a value-added, VivaGel®-coated
condom.
In the wider pharmaceutical fields, Starpharma has both
partnered and internal programs in Drug Delivery. Drug
Delivery partners include GSK, Lilly and AstraZeneca.
Forward Looking Statements
This document contains certain forward-looking statements,
relating to Starpharma's business, which can be identified by the
use of forward-looking terminology such as "promising", "plans",
"anticipated", "will", "project", "believe", "forecast",
"expected", "estimated", "targeting", "aiming", "set to",
"potential", "seeking to", "goal", "could provide", "intends",
"is being developed", "could be", "on track", or similar
expressions, or by express or implied discussions regarding
potential filings or marketing approvals, or potential future sales
of product candidates. Such forward-looking statements involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may
cause actual results to be materially different from any future
results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such
statements. There can be no assurance that any existing or future
regulatory filings will satisfy the FDA's and other health
authorities' requirements regarding any one or more product
candidates nor can there be any assurance that such product
candidates will be approved by any health authorities for sale in
any market or that they will reach any particular level of sales.
In particular, management's expectations regarding the approval and
commercialization of the product candidates could be affected by,
among other things, unexpected clinical trial results, including
additional analysis of existing clinical data, and new clinical
data; unexpected regulatory actions or delays, or government
regulation generally; our ability to obtain or maintain patent or
other proprietary intellectual property protection; competition in
general; government, industry, and general public pricing
pressures; and additional factors that involve significant risks
and uncertainties about our products, product candidates, financial
results and business prospects. Should one or more of these risks
or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions
prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those
described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated or expected.
Starpharma is providing this information as of the date of this
document and does not assume any obligation to update any
forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result
of new information, future events or developments or otherwise.
Media:
Buchan Consulting
Rebecca Wilson
Mob: +61-417-382-391
rwilson@buchanwe.com.au
Haley Price
Mob: +61-423-139-163
hprice@buchanwe.com.au
Starpharma:
Dr Jackie Fairley, Chief Executive
Officer
+61-3-8532-2704
Ben Rogers, Company Secretary
ben.rogers@starpharma.com
http://www.starpharma.com
Makhteshim Agan Group:
Rony Patishi-Chillim
SVP Global Corporate Communication
IR@ma-industries.com
+972-73-232-1941
http://www.ma-industries.com
Farmoz:
Adam Phelan
General Manager - Marketing
adam.phelan@farmoz.com.au
Mob: +61-417-498-428
http://www.farmoz.com.au
SOURCE Makhteshim Agan Industries Ltd
