OctoPlus announces agreement with leading pharmaceutical company for development of a controlled release formulation

OctoPlus announces agreement with leading pharmaceutical company for development of a controlled release formulation

Wed Jan 11, 2012 1:31am EST

OctoPlus N.V. ("OctoPlus" or the "Company") (Euronext: OCTO), announces today that it has signed a feasibility agreement with a leading US-based pharmaceutical company, aimed at developing a controlled release formulation of the client's therapeutic compound for local delivery into joints.

The contract announced today covers initial activities in developing a controlled release formulation of an undisclosed compound using our proprietary drug delivery technology PolyActive®. If the evaluation is successful, the project may progress into a full development, manufacturing and licensing agreement. Financial terms of the current agreement are not disclosed.

For further information, please contact:
Rianne Roukema, Corporate Communications: telephone number +31 (71) 524 1071, or send an e-mail to Investor Relations at [email protected].

About OctoPlus
OctoPlus is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and manufacture of improved injectable pharmaceuticals based on our proprietary drug delivery technologies that exhibit fewer side effects, improved patient convenience and a better efficacy/safety balance than existing therapies. OctoPlus also focuses on the development of long-acting, controlled release versions of known protein therapeutics, peptides and small molecules, including specialty generics.

The clinically most advanced product incorporating our technology is Locteron®, a controlled release formulation of interferon alpha for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. OctoPlus licensed Locteron exclusively to Biolex in October 2008. Locteron is being manufactured for Biolex by OctoPlus and has completed Phase IIb clinical studies with superior clinical data versus current treatment.

In addition, OctoPlus is a leading European provider of advanced drug formulation and clinical scale manufacturing services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, with a focus on difficult-to-formulate active pharmaceutical ingredients.

OctoPlus is listed on NYSE Euronext in Amsterdam under the symbol OCTO. For more information about OctoPlus, please visit our website www.octoplus.nl.

This document may contain certain forward-looking statements relating to the business, financial performance and results of the Company and the industry in which it operates. These statements are based on OctoPlus N.V.'s current plans, estimates and projections, as well as its expectations of external conditions and events. In particular the words "expect", "anticipate", "predict", "estimate", "project", "plan", "may", "should", "would", "will", "intend", "believe" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We caution investors that a number of important factors, and the inherent risks and uncertainties that such statements involve, could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. In the event of any inconsistency between an English version and a Dutch version of this document, the English version will prevail over the Dutch version.