Oasmia Pharmaceutical AB (“Oasmia” or the “Company”), a developer of a new generation of drugs within human and veterinary oncology, announced today that it has shipped Paclical, the Company’s lead cancer product, to Pharmasyntez, its distribution partner in Russia which is expected to commence sales efforts promptly. Paclical, a novel water-soluble formulation of paclitaxel, was approved in April 2015 by the Russian agency.
Pharmasyntez, the Company’s Russia-based distribution partner, is expected to market the product in Russia, Ukraine and Georgia as well as the Commonwealth of Independent States (“CIS”) countries. The market for cytostatics in Russia amounts to 2.05 billion USD with an annual growth rate of 36% according to DSM, the Russian equivalent of IMS Health.
“We are pleased to launch Paclical in this important region, effectively providing patients with a treatment that improves their safety profile, enables higher doses, shortens infusion time, and eliminates the need for pre-medication,” said Julian Aleksov, Executive Chairman of Oasmia.
Standard treatment of ovarian cancer is Taxol in combination with carboplatin. Taxol is a combination of paclitaxel, Cremophor EL (polyethoxylated castor oil) and ethanol. In order to avoid hypersensitivity reactions to Cremophor EL, treatment with Taxol requires extensive pre-medication with corticosteroids and antihistamines as well as a long infusion time. In the recently published results from Oasmia’s pivotal Phase III study, Paclical showed a positive risk/benefit profile compared to treatment with Taxol; removing the need for pre-medication, shortening infusion time to one hour, and possibly reducing the risk of experiencing neuropathy.
About Oasmia Pharmaceutical AB
Oasmia Pharmaceutical AB develops new generations of drugs in the field of human and veterinary oncology. The company’s product development aims to create and manufacture novel nanoparticle formulations and drug-delivery systems based on well-established cytostatics which, in comparison with current alternatives, show improved properties, reduced side-effects, and expanded applications. The company’s product development is based on its proprietary in-house research and company patents. Oasmia is listed on NASDAQ Stockholm (OASM) and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (OMAX, ISIN SE0000722365).
About Pharmasyntez
The company was founded in 1997 and is now one of the ten biggest pharmaceutical companies in Russia. Pharmasyntez specializes in drugs against tuberculosis and cancer, but also manufactures antibiotics and solutions for infusions. Furthermore, the company cooperates with a number of leading institutes and universities in Russia.