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Becton Dickinson Enters Into Collaborative Drug Delivery Agreements with Rhône-Poulenc Rorer
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Contact: Ronald Jasper Becton, Dickinson and Company (201) 847-7160 Franklin Lakes, NJ (April 09, 1999) -- Becton Dickinson and Company (BD) today announced it has signed two separate collaborative agreements with the pharmaceutical company Rhône-Poulenc Rorer (RPR) to explore the feasibility of using BD proprietary iontophoretic drug delivery technology for the administration of certain RPR drugs.
Iontophoresis is a non-invasive technology which uses a mild electric current to facilitate delivery of drugs through the skin. Using miniaturized, battery-powered units, patients wear the iontophoretic systems in the same manner as they would traditional “passive” patches. However, iontophoresis greatly expands the range of drugs, and delivery profiles, available for transdermal delivery.
The first agreement extends a collaborative study to investigate the delivery of one of RPR’s proprietary drugs with the BD iontophoretic system. The second agreement will evaluate a number of RPR compounds, both marketed and in development, as candidates for iontophoretic delivery. These feasibility studies will utilize proprietary BD test systems which have been shown to accurately predict performance of iontophoresis patches in subsequent human clinical trials. Specific terms of the agreements and the identity of the drugs to be tested were not disclosed. Should the feasibility studies prove successful, RPR has the right to enter into a development, licensing and supply agreement.
"These agreements are the latest in a series of initiatives to expand Becton Dickinson’s focus in the area of advanced drug delivery. They also serve to further validate the attractiveness of iontophoresis patches," said Dr. Philip Green, Director of Business Development for Becton Dickinson Transdermal Systems.
Rhône-Poulenc S.A. (NYSE: RP) is a leading life sciences company, growing through innovations in human, plant and animal health and through its specialty chemicals subsidiary, Rhodia. With sales in 1998 of FF86.8 billion (US$14.8 billion), the company employs 65,000 people in 160 countries worldwide.
Becton Dickinson and Company (NYSE: BDX) manufactures and sells a broad range of medical supplies and devices and diagnostic systems for use by health care professionals, medical research institutions, industry and the general public. For its most recent fiscal year, the company reported revenues of $3.1 billion.
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