Nabi Biopharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: NABI – News) announced that it has secured an agreement with Kedrion S.p.A., a global biopharmaceutical company, located in Lucca, Italy. Under the terms of the agreement, Nabi Biopharmaceuticals and Kedrion will pursue a common strategy to develop and commercialize Civacir® [Hepatitis C Immune Globulin (Human)] in Europe and the U.S., with Kedrion being Nabi Biopharmaceuticals' exclusive licensee to commercialize Civacir in Europe. Civacir is Nabi Biopharmaceuticals' plasma-derived, polyclonal antibody product candidate, which, when approved, would be the first therapy for the prevention of the recurrence of hepatitis C-related liver disease in HCV-positive liver transplant recipients. In addition to milestone and royalty payments to be paid to Nabi Biopharmaceuticals, Kedrion will assume development costs for the product candidate in both Europe and the U.S. through at least Phase II clinical trials.
"This agreement represents a major funding event for Nabi Biopharmaceuticals. It is also a validation of the clinical and commercial potential of the Civacir program. This agreement marks a successful achievement of a stated company objective to form strategic partnerships to advance our pipeline programs," stated Thomas H. McLain, chairman, chief executive officer and president, Nabi Biopharmaceuticals. "Kedrion is the recognized leader in plasma-derived products in Italy and is helping to drive the evolution of the broader marketplace within Europe for these products. Kedrion's leadership role in this transformation provides us with a rare and exciting opportunity to speed the clinical and commercial advancement of Civacir across Europe and does so in a way that is financially advantageous to Nabi Biopharmaceuticals. We are thrilled to begin this partnership with Kedrion and believe that it may afford us the chance to explore other, mutually beneficial collaborations between our two companies."
Paolo Marcucci, President and Managing Director, Kedrion S.p.A., stated, "While the number of vulnerable patients continues to rise, there remains no commercially available products that can be dosed safely at the time of transplant or immediately after transplant in hepatitis C-positive liver transplant recipients. We believe that Civacir, if approved, would fill a critical and growing void in viable treatment options for HCV-positive liver transplant recipients. We are looking forward to developing this clinically and commercially important product with Nabi Biopharmaceuticals."
For information about Nabi Biopharmaceuticals: www.nabi.com
