Consort Medical Says BAT Unit Terminates Voke Supply Deals

By Philip Waller

LONDON--Drug delivery device maker Consort Medical PLC (CSRT.LN) Tuesday said a British American Tobacco (BTI) unit is terminating supply deals for the Voke nicotine inhaler as the product failed to commercially launch in 2016.

The companies, however, remain in talks about the future of the Voke program.

Consort said Nicovations Ltd. has served termination notices for all supply agreements with Bespak Europe Ltd., a Consort Medical subsidiary, for Voke, effective immediately.

Voke designer Kind Consumer licensed distribution rights to the product to Nicovations, which in 2011 entered into separate supply agreements with Bespak under which the latter would make and supply filled Voke devices and associated valves.

Voke is one of 16 programs being pursued by Bespak and Consort Medical said it doesn't believe the termination materially impacts its expectations for group underlying trading in this financial year to Apr. 30.

Consort's Chief Executive Jonathan Glenn said: "While we are naturally disappointed in the loss of the supply agreements for Voke to Nicovations, we continue our dialogue with Kind Consumer and with Nicovations on the future of the program and we remain highly confident in the robustness of the remainder of our business and our prospects."

-- Write to Philip Waller at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 03, 2017 03:48 ET (08:48 GMT)

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