Celtic licenses IDEA's Transfersome

The USA's Celtic Pharmaceutical Holdings and Munich, Germany-based IDEA AG announced that TDT, the former's subsidiary, has acquired an exclusive global license to the latter's Transfersome-targeted delivery technology, including global rights to all the firm's products in clinical and preclinical development except for its lead product, IDEA-033, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory indicated against visceral pain, which IDEA will continue to develop independently of TDT.

According to IDEA, Transfersome enables the targeted and non-invasive delivery of drugs (including large molecules such as proteins) through the skin, typically in a gel or liquid spray formulation. Transfersomes can be engineered either to permit drug release close to the surface of the skin, around the cutaneous microvasculature or up to and within the various tissues deep below the treated skin.

The license purchased by TDT includes all forms of Transfersome-based transdermal therapeutics but excludes NSAID delivery to deep tissue for the treatment of inflammation and pain. IDEA retains all its rights to its lead product candidate, IDEA-033, which it is developing as a proprietary program currently completing Phase III trials in Europe in the indication of osteoarthritis.