ProMetic to Commercially Launch Fibrinogen in the Fourth Quarter of 2014
Marketwired
LAVAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - Jul 10, 2014) - ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. (PLI.TO)(PFSCF), ("ProMetic" or the "Corporation") announced today that it will launch fibrinogen for commercial sales during the fourth quarter of 2014 after its successful scale-up at its Laval based plasma purification facility, ProMetic BioProduction Inc. ("PBP"). This follows the previously disclosed proteins already scheduled for production at PBP, namely plasminogen, IVIG and Alpha-1 Antitrypsin.
Sales of fibrinogen manufactured at commercial scale to pharmaceutical companies as a GMP product will be starting in the fourth quarter of 2014, 6 months ahead of the originally anticipated timeline. The fibrinogen protein has many commercial applications ranging from harvesting and culturing stem cells to use in wound healing products, hemostatic bandages and drug delivery systems. The worldwide market for fibrinogen exceeds $500 million per year. The Corporation is already in discussion with potential users of the product about making initial supplies in the fourth quarter of 2014.
"There is a growing market for fibrinogen used in various commercial applications that do not require regulatory authorization and we expect revenue contribution to start as soon as the fourth quarter 2014", said Mr. Pierre Laurin, President and Chief Executive Officer of ProMetic who also added "We are also considering a clinical regulatory pathway to support the use of fibrinogen for specific rare and unmet medical conditions".
ProMetic's proprietary and proven PPPS™ platform has consistently delivered higher recovery yield for several proteins, including fibrinogen which has a production yield exceeding double that of the industry average. Prometic is also further leveraging its PPPS™ platform to enable the manufacturing of two other orphan drugs in 2014.
About Fibrinogen
Fibrinogen, also called Factor I, is a blood plasma protein produced by the liver that plays an important role in blood coagulation. Blood coagulation is a process in which several components of the blood form a clot. When blood escapes from a rupture in a blood vessel, coagulation is triggered. Several proteins, called coagulation factors, go into action to produce thrombin. The thrombin then converts fibrinogen to fibrin. Fibrin produced from fibrinogen is the main protein in a blood clot. It surrounds the cells in the blood and plasma and helps form the clot. The resulting clot, which is stabilized by Factor XIII, remains intact from 10 to 14 days, the time required for healing to take place.
About ProMetic Life Sciences Inc.
ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. (www.prometic.com) is a long established biopharmaceutical company with globally recognized expertise in bioseparations, plasma-derived therapeutics and small-molecule drug development. ProMetic offers its state of the art technologies for large-scale purification of biologics, drug development, proteomics and the elimination of pathogens to a growing base of industry leaders and uses its own affinity technology that provides for highly efficient extraction and purification of therapeutic proteins from human plasma in order to develop best-in-class therapeutics and orphan drugs. ProMetic is also active in developing its own novel small-molecule therapeutic products targeting unmet medical needs in the field of fibrosis, cancer and autoimmune diseases/inflammation. Headquartered in Laval (Canada), ProMetic has R&D facilities in the UK, the U.S. and Canada, manufacturing facilities in the UK and business development activities in the U.S., Europe and Asia.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements about ProMetic's objectives, strategies and businesses that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are "forward-looking" because they are based on our current expectations about the markets we operate in and on various estimates and assumptions. Actual events or results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements if known or unknown risks affect our business, or if our estimates or assumptions turn out to be inaccurate. Such risks and assumptions include, but are not limited to, ProMetic's ability to develop, manufacture, and successfully commercialize value-added pharmaceutical products, the availability of funds and resources to pursue R&D projects, the successful and timely completion of clinical studies, the ability of ProMetic to take advantage of business opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry, uncertainties related to the regulatory process and general changes in economic conditions. You will find a more detailed assessment of the risks that could cause actual events or results to materially differ from our current expectations in ProMetic's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2013, under the heading "Risk and Uncertainties related to ProMetic's business". As a result, we cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will materialize. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statement even if new information becomes available, as a result of future events or for any other reason, unless required by applicable securities laws and regulations. All amounts are in Canadian dollars unless indicated otherwise.
