Hikma taps Unilife for pre-filled syringes
pharmafile | November 26, 2013 | News story | Manufacturing and Production |Â Â Hikma, pre-filled, unilifeÂ
Jordanian drugmaker Hikma has signed a strategic-level deal with Unilife for the manufacture of generic injectable drugs using its pre-filled syringes.
The 15-year supply agreement sees Unilife receive $40m in upfront and milestone payments and will involve 20 generic drugs initially, with commercial production getting underway next year – although the deal could be extended to include additional drug products.
At the heart of the deal is Unilife’s Unifill brand, which the company claims is the world’s only fully integrated pre-filled syringe, serving both as the primary container for injectable and as a safety device, retracting the needle after delivery.
Hikma said it expects to require a minimum volume of 175 million units per year after a rapid ramp-up in production, and its chief executive – Said Darwazah – said use of Unifill syringes would “differentiate our injectable products and to increase our market share”.
Unilife’s chief executive Alan Shortall said the strategic partnership with Hikma would help the company to “rapidly penetrate the large and fast-growing market for generic injectables” and – coming in the wake of a long-term supply agreement signed with Sanofi in September – positions it to become “one of the largest suppliers of prefilled syringes in the world”.
Earlier this month Shortall told investors at the company’s annual general meeting that he expects the company to post expect sequential quarterly growth in fiscal year 2014, and a significant annual growth year over prior year for fiscal 2014 and beyond.
“Hikma is one of the world’s fastest-growing pharmaceutical companies, and a top three supplier by volume in the $7 billion US market for generic injectables”, said Shortall.
At the moment pre-filled syringes account for around 25% of the total injectables market but is predicted to grow at nearly 14% a year, between now and 2018 when it will be worth around $6.9 billion according to market research firm Roots Analysis.
Phil Taylor
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