Foamix Pharmaceuticals Ltd.(Nasdaq:FOMX) which develops foam-based drugs, some independently and some in cooperation with major companies, is receiving its first approval for one of its products. The product is designed for the treatment of Rosacea. Foamix has granted the development license for the product to Bayer, which conducted advanced clinical trials and registered the product for marketing.
Following the approval, Foamix will receive payments from Bayer, which Foamix estimates at $10 million in the first year of sales. The product's launch is slated for September. Following the announcement, the Foamix share price rose 4% in Nasdaq trading on Friday, pushing the company's market cap up to $320 million.
Foamix is developing foam versions of dermatological drugs current sold as lotions or pills. This product is a foam version of a product whose sales by Bayer already total $130 million. The company believes that Bayer will gradually transfer a significant share of its consumers to the foam configuration, and it is possible that a price premium can also be charged.
Foamix is expected to receive royalties amounting to 8-10% of revenue from Bayer, as well as an unstated volume of payments for milestones.
Competing against itself with a Rosacea product
Foamix is also developing its own independent products, one of which is a foam for the treatment of Rosacea, based on a different active ingredient than the Bayer product. If this foam reaches the market, whether through Bayer or in the framework of a different agreement signed by the company for the coming years, it will compete with the Foamix product tested and marketed by Bayer for a market that currently totals $300-400 million. The new product is on the verse of Phase II clinical trials, and in any case, it will take several years for it to reach the market.
Foamix has a number of additional independent products in development, including a foam antibiotic product for treatment of acne instead of an orally administered antibiotic, which has successfully passed Phase II trials, with Phase III trials scheduled for 2016 (the company previously planned to begin the trials this year. The trial is scheduled to take a year, and a second Phase III trial may also be required. Another product is an antibiotic foam for treatment of Impetigo, an infectious disease, which is due to begin a Phase III trial after talks with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A third product, a foam for treatment of chemotherapy-induced rash, is in Phase I/IIA trials, results from which are expected in the coming months.
Foamix has $100 million in cash, after making two Nasdaq offerings over the past years.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 2, 2015
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