Friday, August 05, 2022
Valeo Pharma Inc., a Canadian pharmaceutical company, announced today that it has entered into a Commercialization and Supply Agreement (the “Agreement”) with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. (“Novartis”) for the Canadian commercialization by Valeo of two innovative ophthalmic therapies. Under the Agreement, Valeo becomes the exclusive distributor of XIIDRA® (lifitegrast) and SIMBRINZA® (brinzolamide / brimonidine tartrate) in Canada, and as such, will be responsible for all commercial and medical activities. The Agreement is effective July 29, 2022 and will continue for an initial term of seven years. XIIDRA® is a prescription eye drop solution indicated for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease 3. SIMBRINZA® is a prescription eye drop solution indicated for the reduction of intraocular pressure (IOP) in adult patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension for whom a monotherapy provides insufficient IOP reduction AND when the use of SIMBRINZA® is considered appropriate 4.
“We are extremely pleased to be expanding our relationship with Novartis with these innovative ophthalmic therapies and adding Ophthalmology as a strategic therapeutic focus for Valeo. XIIDRA® and SIMBRINZA® will start impacting our revenues in Q4-2022 as we assume all commercial activities in Canada”, said Steve Saviuk, CEO of Valeo. “These products have significant upside revenue potential which will be supported by our dedicated Ophthalmic commercial unit. The addition of these products significantly increases our revenue base and accelerates our drive to profitability.” “This second agreement with Valeo Pharma fits our overall strategy to provide innovative medicines that have the potential to improve health outcomes,” said Andrea Marazzi, Country President , Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. “We have seen Valeo’s commitment and focus in delivering on patient needs in the respiratory space and now, by bringing XIIDRA and SIMBRINZA into their portfolio, they will will be able to help improve the vision of numerous Canadians”.
Commenting on this new commercial agreement with Novartis, Frederic Fasano, Valeo’s President and COO said, “The addition of XIIDRA® and SIMBRINZA® in our product portfolio is allowing us to enter a new strategic therapeutic area with large unmet medical needs and a rich R&D pipeline of innovative treatments. With two very high quality products, supported by outstanding phase III clinical data, Valeo will gain expertise and build competitive infrastructure to become a major player in this area. We look forward to rapidly getting our medical and commercial team to work with the scientific and medical community to support access to XIIDRA® and SIMBRINZA® for the overall benefit of Canadian patients.”
It is estimated that around twenty one percent of Canadians experience ocular symptoms associated with dry eye1,5 and 400,000 Canadians6 suffer from glaucoma, with open angle glaucoma accounting for 95%6 of the cases.
References:
Ocul Surf. 2019 Jul;17(3):526-531
CNIB Foundation
XIIDRA Product Monograph, dated February 13, 2020
SIMBRINZA Product Monograph, dated February 10, 2017
IQVIA CDH
CMAJ, September 8, 2015, 187(12)
Special Event Webcast and Conference Call
Valeo will host a conference call to discuss the US$40 million non-dilutive financing and new products commercialization and supply transactions on Tuesday August 2, 2022, at 9.30am (ET). The telephone numbers to access the conference call are 416-764-8659 and 1-888-664-6392. An audio replay of the call will be available. The numbers to access the audio replay are 416-764-8677 and 1-888-390-0541 using the following access code (292407 #).
