Starpharma and Makhteshim Agan in Priostar Agrochemical Collaboration

MELBOURNE, Australia and TEL-AVIV, Israel, March 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Starpharma Holdings Ltd (ASX:SPL; OTCQX: SPHRY) and Makhteshim Agan Group today announced a collaboration program. This will see Starpharma's Priostar^® dendrimer technology applied to novel crop protection formulations across Makhteshim Agan's extensive product portfolio.

Makhteshim Agan is the world's leading manufacturer and distributor of branded off-patent crop and non-crop protection products, with 2012 global sales of US$2.83B. Makhteshim Agan serves farmers in 120 countries and operates in Australia as Farmoz.

The collaboration program leverages Makhteshim Agan's broad product portfolio and extensive formulation capabilities alongside Starpharma's Priostar^® dendrimer technology. The program includes the development of new formulations of a number of active ingredients, including three actives with total market sales for 2011, each exceeding $400m globally. Other terms of the agreement were not disclosed due to commercial confidentiality restrictions.

"Through this collaboration Starpharma has the opportunity to further extend the reach of its dendrimer technology in agrochemicals. This partnership which involves multiple products in major global markets represents an exciting and valuable commercial opportunity for our Priostar^® dendrimers," said Dr. Jackie Fairley, CEO Starpharma. "We look forward to working closely with Makhteshim Agan to produce exciting new crop protection products."

 "Makhteshim Agan strives to offer differentiated solutions to address growers' needs, based on innovation, quality and value," said Sami Shabtai, Head of Innovative Development at Makhteshim Agan. "We actively seek out exciting technologies that can complement our in-house capabilities and market understanding to deliver effective and simple crop protection solutions."

David Peters, Managing Director of Farmoz added "As Makhteshim Agan's Australian subsidiary, Farmoz looks forward to applying Starpharma's dendrimer technology to complement our effective and reliable Australian portfolio. Australia is an environment with unique challenges for agriculture and innovation is an important component in our strategy for providing the solutions today's Australian growers need."

The benefits of Starpharma's Priostar^® dendrimers to agrochemical companies and end-user growers can include:

• Improved product efficacy;
• More concentrated formulations to reduce supply chain costs and for greater ease of handling;
• Reduction in solvent loading; and,
• Improved bioavailability through increased adhesion, to reduce losses due to rain run-off, and the need for multiple applications.

In addition to the collaboration with Makhteshim Agan, Starpharma continues to advance the commercialisation of Priostar^® for crop protection applications through both its own internal research program and through valued partnerships with other crop protection companies.

Makhteshim Agan Industries Ltd. is a leading manufacturer and distributor worldwide of crop-protection solutions and the largest off-patent player in the industry.

The Company supplies efficient solutions to farmers that assist them in combating disease and increasing yields. In 2012, the Company's revenues were over $2.83 billion, and it is ranked seventh in the world in the overall agro-chemicals industry. The Company is characterized by its know-how, high-level technological-chemical abilities, expertise in product registration, and observance of strict standards of environmental protection, stringent quality control and global marketing and distribution channels.

Makhteshim Agan Group sells its crop protection products in over 120 countries and together with its strategically located global manufacturing and distribution facilities delivers simplicity in agriculture around the globe.

Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX:SPL, OTCQX:SPHRY) is an ASX 300 company and is a world leader in the development of dendrimer products for pharmaceutical, life science and other applications.

Starpharma's underlying technology is built around dendrimers - a type of synthetic nanoscale polymer that is highly regular in size and structure and well suited to pharmaceutical and other uses.  Starpharma has three core development programs: VivaGel^® portfolio, drug delivery and agrochemicals with the Company developing a number of products internally and others via commercial partnerships.

In Agrochemicals Starpharma has series of industry partnerships with leading industry players including Nufarm (ASX:NUF) as well as with internal programs including an enhanced version of glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup^®).

Starpharma's lead pharmaceutical product is VivaGel^® (SPL7013 Gel), a gel-based formulation of a proprietary dendrimer. VivaGel^® is under clinical development for the treatment and prevention of bacterial vaginosis (BV).

Starpharma has also signed separate licence agreements with Ansell Limited (ASX:ANN) and Okamoto Industries Inc (Tokyo Stock Exchange) to market a value-added, VivaGel^®-coated condom.  

In the wider pharmaceutical fields, Starpharma has both partnered and internal programs in Drug Delivery.  Drug Delivery partners include GSK, Lilly and AstraZeneca.

Forward Looking Statements

This document contains certain forward-looking statements, relating to Starpharma's business, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "promising", "plans", "anticipated", "will", "project", "believe", "forecast", "expected", "estimated", "targeting", "aiming", "set to", "potential", "seeking to", "goal", "could provide", "intends",  "is being developed", "could be", "on track", or similar expressions, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential filings or marketing approvals, or potential future sales of product candidates. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. There can be no assurance that any existing or future regulatory filings will satisfy the FDA's and other health authorities' requirements regarding any one or more product candidates nor can there be any assurance that such product candidates will be approved by any health authorities for sale in any market or that they will reach any particular level of sales. In particular, management's expectations regarding the approval and commercialization of the product candidates could be affected by, among other things, unexpected clinical trial results, including additional analysis of existing clinical data, and new clinical data; unexpected regulatory actions or delays, or government regulation generally; our ability to obtain or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property protection; competition in general; government, industry, and general public pricing pressures; and additional factors that involve significant risks and uncertainties about our products, product candidates, financial results and business prospects. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Starpharma is providing this information as of the date of this document and does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information, future events or developments or otherwise.

Media:  
Buchan Consulting
Rebecca Wilson
Mob: [phone]
[e-mail]

Haley Price
Mob: [phone]
[e-mail]

Starpharma:
Dr Jackie Fairley, Chief Executive Officer
[phone]

Ben Rogers, Company Secretary
[e-mail]
http://www.starpharma.com

Makhteshim Agan Group:
Rony Patishi-Chillim
SVP Global Corporate Communication
[e-mail]
[phone]
http://www.ma-industries.com

Farmoz:
Adam Phelan
General Manager - Marketing
[e-mail]
Mob: [phone]
http://www.farmoz.com.au

SOURCE Makhteshim Agan Industries Ltd

Copyright 2013 PR Newswire