www.stirlingproducts.net
Stirling Products (ASX:STI) is a manufacturer and marketer of proprietary and/or patented pharmaceutical products and natural health products for its own interests as well as on a contractual basis for third parties. Strategically, Stirling Products is positioned to capitalise on the rapidly changing conditions within the global pharmaceutical and health markets.
The Stirling Products corporate headquarters are in Sydney, Australia and its North American pharmaceutical manufacturing operations are based on Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Stirling operates through three main business units each managed by proven industry specialist managers:
- Pharmaceutical & Healthcare
- Research & Development
- Animal Products
Stirling Products has options for development of drug delivery device
Healthcare group, Stirling Products (ASX:STI) will aim to have its Inhalation Drug Delivery Platform device available for testing by Q1, 2011. The technology is in the device pre-production stage and it aims to forge a partnership with a major pharmaceutical company. An earlier version achieved Food & Drug Administration approval.
With a number of blockbuster products coming off patent during an end of product cycle period, Stirling is looking to leverage opportunities to commercialise its device as a superior drug delivery platform for selected drugs.
In a series of meetings around the world, Stirling is now introducing its commercialisation approach to the market and to a potential major Big Pharma partnership.
Stirling has revealed the Stirling device provides benefits not matched in the market:
- Drug transport velocity - matched to natural breathing cycle
- Less deposition on drug delivery pathways
- Aerosol concentration - ~3x other ultrasonic devices
- Delivered drugs have much better & faster absorption – bioavailability due to improved particle size distribution
- Proven to require substantively LESS active drug (10-15% of oral) for the same benefit – potentially less side-effects
- Active drug packaged in unique single-use disposable capsules – IP protection
Pulmonary delivery of drugs has been acknowledged as a more efficient way of drug and vaccine delivery, however development of an optimal pulmonary delivery device has to date eluded the industry despite many hundreds of millions having been spent on delivery device development.
Stirling’s device and patents address the shortcomings that industry has encountered and it believes it its device can provide for improved delivery of existing blockbusters – thereby enhancing the respective products and retaining "premium blockbuster value and status."
A study has forecast an $80-100bn decline in pharma revenue worldwide through to 2014, caused by patients switching to cheaper generic versions of current blockbuster drugs coming off patent. A switch to generics short-term will affect six of the world's ten best selling drugs facing patent loss in the US in the next 2-3 years.
Inhalation and intra-nasal drugs had sales exceeding US$20 billion in 2009, including: Seretide/Advair – GlaxoSmithKline US$7.8 billion (2009) - the patent expires in US Sept 2010 and Europe 2013 – revoked
in UK.
Stirling also has an “in-house” strategy to develop the device in parallel with the big pharma route. Whereby, Stirling would manufacture the device and obtains regulatory approvals. Stirling would source generic versions of off-patent blockbusters from its generics partner – CIPLA (India). Stirling would manufacture ‘safer’ generic drugs in patented “key locked” capsules, locking in a greater share of revenues.
