Licence agreement for head lice treatment

RNS Number : 2989G

Eden Research plc

05 June 2013

 



5 June 2013

Eden Research Plc

("Eden" or "Company")

Licence agreement to commercialise head lice treatment

Eden Research plc (AIM: EDEN), the AIM listed agrochemical and encapsulation development company, announces that it has granted Neo-Pharma Innovations Limited ('NEO') a licence to develop its terpene-based head lice treatment for commercial sales.

Under the terms of the agreement, NEO has a licence to Eden's intellectual property rights for the use of its patented, terpene based head lice treatment. The 20 year licence allows NEO to seek regulatory approvals for the product, as well as to manufacture and sell the treatment worldwide. It also allows them to develop products, using the same technology, that treat body lice, scabies and bed bugs.

As part of the agreement, Eden has received an up-front licence fee and will also receive a milestone payment after the first regulatory approval of the product or following commencement of commercial sales, whichever is the earlier. Once commercial sales have begun, Eden will receive royalty payments in relation to these sales.

Following the signing of the licence agreement NEO will proceed with product trials and will seek regulatory approvals and registrations for the product on a global basis.

Clive Newitt, Managing Director of Eden, commented: "This licencing deal follows our clear strategy of out-licencing our technology to commercial partners. This enables our product to be taken to market without us having to bear the cost of that large scale exercise, or oversee the administrative burden of all that it entails. Over the course of its term, I am confident that our agreement with NEO will deliver significant returns to our shareholders."

John Davies, Chairman of NEO comments: "We are extremely excited regarding our future collaboration with Eden since we believe the product concept for the treatment of head lice, body lice, Bed Bugs and Scabies is a novel one, which offers very significant worldwide marketing potential.

"Moreover, in terms of our very extensive expertise of gaining over 100 international regulatory approvals (built up over 30 years), and our highly developed structure of international distribution contacts/'partners', we have the optimum combination of knowledge, expertise and commitment to achieve a 'win-win' result for ourselves and, of course, Eden and its shareholders."

Eden Research plc	www.edenresearch.com
Clive Newitt, Managing Director	Tel: [phone]
Alex Abrey, Chief Financial Officer
W H Ireland Limited	Tel: [phone]
John Wakefield Mike Coe
Walbrook PR Ltd	Tel: [phone] or [e-mail]
Paul McManus (Media Relations)	Mob: [phone]
Paul Cornelius (Investor Relations)	Mob: [phone]

Notes:

Eden has developed a terpene-based encapsulation technology which uses yeast cells to deliver a slow release of natural compounds for agricultural and non-agricultural uses.

Terpenes are natural compounds which function as defence mechanisms in many plant groups and are released in response to infection, attack by pests, stress or mechanical injury. Terpenes are already widely used in the food flavouring, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

Historically, terpenes have had limited commercial use in the agrochemical sector due to their volatility, phytotoxicity and poor solubility. Eden's platform encapsulation technology provides a unique, environmentally friendly solution to these problems and enables terpenes to be used as effective, low-risk agrochemicals.

A key milestone for the business was reached in May 2013 when the three active substances used in the Company's lead product, 3AEY, were approved for use in plant protection products within the European Union.

This allows the actives to be used with Eden's encapsulation technology in any combination to create a range of agrochemical products for a variety of applications.

The next-generation encapsulation technology, licensed from University of Massachusetts Medical School ("UMMS") recently, provides significant additional benefits to the original system as it allows release to be controlled by environmental factors rather than relying solely upon the chemistry of the substances used. This means that there is more control over the timing of the release of the active compound being carried allowing for further reduction in chemicals applied whilst ensuring maximum effectiveness.

The UMMS license also significantly expands the potential use of the Eden technology in non-agricultural applications such as health and beauty, cosmetics and animal health.

For more information about Eden, please visit www.edenresearch.com 

 

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