D-Pharm licenses stroke drug to Yungjin

Rehovot, Israel-based D-Pharm has granted South Korea's Yungjin Pharmaceutical an exclusive license to develop, register and market its drug candidate DP-b99 in the latter's domestic market for the treatment of acute stroke.

Under the terms of the deal, Yungjin will develop and commercialize the agent in South Korea, while D-Pharm will be the sole supplier of the final product. The agreement includes an upfront payment of $1.0 million and additional undisclosed milestones to D-Pharm, which will supply the drug for a certain percentage of the reimbursement price in Korea. Further financial details were not revealed.

According to D-Pharm, DP-b99 is a unique neuroprotective drug, completing a Phase IIb clinical study in stroke patients. In earlier Phase I and II trials, it was proven to be safe both in healthy young and elderly volunteers and in stroke patients. This current Phase IIb study is designed to reconfirm the beneficial effects of DP-b99 previously observed and extend the safety data obtained from the Phase IIa study. The results of the Phase IIb evaluation are expected in January 2007, the firm noted.