France's NicOx is on the prowl for marketed or late-stage products that can be added to its pipeline as it lays the groundwork for commercializing naproxcinod, a potential blockbuster anti-inflammatory drug. NicOx is looking for partners on naproxcinod but says it wants to keep its hands on certain marketing rights, allowing the developer to set up a sales and marketing arm that can pick up other products at a later stage.
"In parallel with our on-going discussions with potential naproxcinod partners, we are accelerating our search for marketed or late-stage clinical products for in-licensing or acquisition to leverage our future commercial infrastructure," Chief Executive Michele Garufi said in a statement.
In its financial report out today, NicOx said that it has enough cash to continue operations until the end of next year and plans to file for an FDA approval of naproxcinod--a would-be competitor to Celebrex--in the middle of this year.
Garufi expects to start inking deals soon. "We are confident we will achieve these key near term milestones, which should position NicOx to deliver sustainable profitability in the mid-term."
- check out NicOx's release