Novo Nordisk milestone for Neose

USA-based Neose Technologies says that it received a milestone payment from Denmark's Novo Nordisk under a license agreement entered into November 2003 for the use of Neose's GlycoPEGylation technology to develop a next-generation version of Factor VIIa. The company is also working with Novo Nordisk to develop next-generation versions of Factors VIII and IX.

"Our collaboration with Novo Nordisk has been very productive and we are excited about the product profile improvement GlycoPEGylation provides to Novo Nordisk's FVIIa," said George Vergis, the US firm's chief executive officer.

Factor VII/VIIa is used in the treatment of bleeding episodes and for the prevention of bleeding during surgery or invasive procedures in patients with congenital hemophilia with inhibitors to coagulation factors VIII or IX. The worldwide market for recombinant Factor VII was around $850.0 million in 2005, with Novo Nordisk being the only participant, the company noted.