Nov. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW - news) and Diversa Corporation (Nasdaq: DVSA - news) have entered into an agreement to jointly market their respective abilities to develop and produce chiral compounds for active pharmaceutical ingredients, pharmaceutical intermediates, and other fine chemicals.
Chiral technologies permit the separation of a desired active ingredient from its mirror image. Chirally pure chemicals are preferred by the pharmaceutical industry because they may provide lower toxicity, higher efficacy, lower manufacturing costs, and patent life extensions.
``Pharmaceutical companies seeking to introduce single-isomer chiral drugs, as requested by the FDA, will be able to take advantage of the combined capabilities of Dow and Diversa to develop and produce these pharmaceutical products more quickly and cost-effectively,'' stated Margaret Walker, business director for Dow Contract Manufacturing Services. ``This agreement will enable Dow and Diversa to efficiently meet the specific needs of our customers.''
Under the terms of the agreement, Diversa will use its proprietary high-throughput technologies to identify and develop enzymes designed to exhibit significantly enhanced performance that can be used as biocatalysts in the development of pure chiral compounds. Diversa will receive undisclosed technology access fees, research and development payments, milestone payments, and royalty payments from sales of end products by Dow. Dow, through its Contract Manufacturing Services business, will provide the process capability required to synthesize pharmaceutical products for the specific processes. Dow's capabilities include multi-step complex organic synthesis, process development with cGMP capabilities, and its overall ability to handle all aspects of pharmaceutical production in accordance with U.S. Food and Drug Administration requirements, from concept to commercial manufacturing.
``Diversa's technologies permit rapid discovery and optimization of novel enzymes with superior capabilities for synthesizing chiral compounds. These capabilities, combined with Dow's extensive process development expertise, will enable the efficient commercialization of high-value chiral pharmaceutical products,'' stated Jay M. Short, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Diversa Corporation.... |
