Hemosol (NASDAQ:HMSL)
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Hemosol and ProMetic Biosciences form Strategic Alliance for Production and
Commercialization of Plasma-based Proteins
TORONTO, Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Hemosol Inc. (TSX: HML, NASDAQ: HMSL)
today announced that it has forged the principle terms of a strategic alliance
with ProMetic Biosciences Ltd. a wholly owned subsidiary of ProMetic Life
Sciences Inc. (TSX: PLI) that will include Hemosol in-licensing the novel plasma
separation technology developed by ProMetic and its strategic partner, the
American National Red Cross ("American Red Cross").
Key elements of the strategic alliance include:
- Hemosol obtaining from ProMetic the exclusive North American license
for the novel cascade purification process developed by ProMetic and
the American Red Cross (the "Cascade") to recover valuable proteins
from human plasma;
- The implementation and optimisation of the Cascade at Hemosol's
state-of-the-art Meadowpine manufacturing facility in Mississauga,
Ontario;
- The commitment in principle of the American Red Cross to supply raw
material to Hemosol for processing and the purchase from Hemosol of
specific therapeutic products isolated using the Cascade; and
- Co-ordinated business activity by Hemosol and ProMetic to generate
revenue for both Companies following the successful implementation of
the Cascade at the Meadowpine facility by:
- Providing clinical trial material to the American Red Cross and
other potential licensees of Cascade outside of North America;
and
- developing markets for both therapeutic and non-therapeutic
plasma products produced by Hemosol employing the Cascade; and
- identifying, developing and exploiting commercial opportunities
in addition to those available from the use of Cascade.
"This exciting new opportunity to participate in the market for proven
therapeutic blood products with demonstrated demand, enhances and dovetails with
our ongoing development of oxygen therapeutics such as HEMOLINK as well as our
drug development pipeline," said Lee Hartwell, Hemosol's President & CEO. "We
believe that this strategic alliance with ProMetic combined with the commitment
in principle of the American Red Cross, brings together the technology and
commercial relationships necessary to establish Hemosol as a leading
manufacturer of next-generation blood proteins and related products".
"The formation of this strategic alliance between Hemosol and ProMetic is the
ideal platform to exploit the technology developed by the American Red Cross and
ProMetic," stated Chris Lamb, Chief Operating Officer of the American Red Cross
Plasma Services. "In light of Hemosol's considerable capabilities in this area,
it is our goal to work closely with Hemosol through the implementation and
approval phase for the Cascade and, once completed, to rely on Hemosol as a key
supplier for new and novel therapeutic protein requirements."
The annual market for proteins capable of being isolated using the Cascade was
approximately US $5.6 billion in 2002, this market is expected to increase to US
$6 billion in 2005(1). Hemosol is the first licensee of this technology and will
be its exclusive user to manufacture products for sale into the North American
market - the largest single market for plasma-based proteins. Commercial sales
of therapeutic products manufactured by Cascade will require the advance
approval of the applicable regulatory agency in each jurisdiction where sales
are contemplated.
The Cascade process was developed under the existing strategic alliance between
ProMetic and the ARC that was formed in February, 2002. This novel process
integrates proven technologies to significantly improve the yield and product
recovery of valuable proteins isolated from human plasma. Given the
significantly improved yields and efficiency of the Cascade process, the
commercial driver underlying the technology is its ability to potentially narrow
the increasing gap between the growing demand for these products and the
inherent limitations in traditional fractionation procedures.
"This is a true win-win alliance for all parties - the potentially paradigm
shifting and proven technology developed by ProMetic and the American Red Cross
will be paired with Hemosol's considerable experience with blood products and
state-of-the-art Meadowpine facility," said Pierre Laurin, President & CEO,
Prometic Life Sciences. "Given the potential of the Cascade to dramatically
increase the yield of plasma derived next-generation therapeutic proteins, we
look forward to continuing to execute our strategy of building a broad-based
international network of licensees for this important technology."
In order to fix the principle commercial terms of this strategic alliance,
Hemosol and ProMetic have executed a binding memorandum of understanding
("MoU"). As consideration for entering into this binding MoU and the
commencement of implementation activities by the parties, Hemsol has agreed to
issue 2.0 million common shares to ProMetic, subject to regulatory approval.
Hemosol has also agreed to pay ProMetic a staged license fee with an aggregate
value of approximately $16.5 million, payable over approximately four years.
Part of this fee will be satisfied by the issuance to ProMetic of 1.0 million
Hemosol common shares, subject to the receipt of all regulatory approvals, upon
the execution of the definitive license agreement. Hemosol will also pay a
pre-determined royalty to ProMetic on the sale of products isolated using the
Cascade.
In addition to full-scale commercial production in North America, Hemosol is
positioned to secure supplementary revenues by supplying clinical trial material
to future Cascade licensees worldwide. The Company plans to target this
incremental revenue opportunity by leveraging its early entrance into the market
for Cascade-derived products as well as its Meadowpine manufacturing facility.
Access to clinical material by subsequent licensees will be key to accelerating
the approval processes for these products with various national regulators.
Hemosol also continues to develop its core oxygen therapeutic HEMOLINK(TM)
(hemoglobin raffimer). The use of Meadowpine to manufacture products under the
agreement with ProMetic will not interfere with current development programs.
The Company is advancing non-clinical analysis of HEMOLINK that includes both in
vitro and in vivo studies. Hemosol's goal is to review progress in these studies
with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration in early 2004 with the aim of getting
HEMOLINK off clinical hold by the fourth quarter of next year.
Conference Call
Hemosol, Prometic and the American Red Cross will host a conference call to
discuss this strategic alliance at 10 a.m. today, December 4, 2003.
Participating on the call will be Messrs Lee Hartwell, President & CEO Hemosol
Inc., Pierre Laurin, President & CEO ProMetic Life Sciences Ltd., and Chris
Lamb, Chief Operating Officer, American Red Cross Plasma Services. The dial-in
numbers for the conference call are 1-800-273-9672 or 416-695-5806 (reference
No. 1508631). The call will be audio-cast live and archived for 90 days at
http://www.hemosol.com/, http://www.prometic.com/ and
http://www.financialdisclosure.ca/.
About ProMetic Life Sciences Inc.
ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. is a world-scale biopharmaceutical company with
headquarters in Montreal, additional facilities in the U.K. and a marketing
presence in the U.S.A. ProMetic specializes in research, development,
manufacture and marketing of a variety of commercial applications from its
proprietary platform technologies, which are used in the development of
therapeutics, the elimination of pathogens, proteomics and large-scale drug
purification. http://www.prometic.com/.
About Hemosol Inc.
Hemosol is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and
manufacturing of biologics, particularly blood-related proteins. The Company has
a broad range of novel therapeutic products in development, including
HEMOLINK(TM) (hemoglobin raffimer), an oxygen therapeutic designed to rapidly
and safely improve oxygen delivery via the circulatory system. Hemosol also is
developing additional oxygen therapeutics, a hemoglobin-based drug delivery
platform to treat diseases such as hepatitis C and cancers of the liver, and a
cell therapy program initially directed to the treatment of cancer. Hemosol
intends to leverage its expertise in manufacturing blood proteins and its
state-of-the-art Meadowpine manufacturing facility to seek additional strategic
growth opportunities. http://www.hemosol.com/
Hemosol Inc.'s common shares are listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market under the
trading symbol "HMSL" and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbol
"HML".
HEMOLINK is a registered trademark of Hemosol Inc.
(1) Market Bureau Research Inc.
Certain statements concerning Hemosol's future prospects are "forward- looking
statements" under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. There can be no assurances that future results will be achieved, and
actual results could differ materially from forecasts and estimates. Important
factors that could cause Hemosol's actual results to differ materially from
forecasts and estimates include, but are not limited to: the successful and
timely completion of the preclinical and clinical development of its products;
Hemosol's ability to obtain regulatory approvals for its products; Hemosol's
ability to manufacture or have manufactured its product in commercial quantities
and at competitive costs; the competitive environment for therapeutic and
non-therapeutic protein products derived from human blood; the ability to obtain
adequate funding under acceptable terms to complete its development programs;
and other factors set forth in filings with Canadian securities regulatory
authorities and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These risks and
uncertainties, as well as others, are discussed in greater detail in the filings
of Hemosol with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission. Hemosol makes no commitment to revise or
update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or
circumstances after the date any such statement is made.
DATASOURCE: Hemosol Inc.
CONTACT: Jason Hogan, Investor & Media Relations,
(416) 361-1331, 800-789-3419, (416) 815-0080 fax, ,
http://www.hemosol.com/;
To request a free copy of this organization's annual report, please go to
http://www.newswire.ca/ and click on reports@cnw.