Britannia has a marketed product portfolio and cost-effective R&D capabilities. The Company currently has two clinical trials underway in key research areas and markets six pharmaceutical products, two of which are proprietary to Britannia. 

Britannia's product licensing strategy

Existing Partnerships

If you are interested in discussing business development/commercial opportunities for any of the programmes you see listed below, please contact us.
 

Apomorphine is a potent dopamine agonist that provides dramatic relief from the ‘off’ symptoms of late-stage Parkinson’s disease patients.  APO-go is administered as a subcutaneous injection and therefore has a rapid speed of onset.

APO-go is licensed to a number of different companies worldwide.  Please see our Existing Partnerships page for further details.

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Lofexidine is a member of the imidazoline family of compounds and is an alpha-2 adrenergic receptor agonist.  Treatment with lofexidine prevents the noradrenaline storm associated with withdrawal from opiate use, assisting the opiate drug user to overcome withdrawal symptoms.  It is the only non-opiate product licensed for this indication.  Lofexidine has been approved and sold in the UK market since 1992 where it has now achieved a market share in the region of 60-70%.  The product is currently marketed for opiate detoxification.

Lofexidine is licensed to US World Meds LLC in North America, but is available for licensing in a number of other countries.  Please contact us for further details.

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With nearly 90% of all abdominal operations causing surgical adhesions and approximately 5% of these going on to require a corrective surgical procedure, the problem of surgical adhesions is exacerbated by drawbacks in current treatment options.

With Adsurf (pumactant) in surgical adhesions, Britannia aims to address the physiological loss of phospholipids that underlies the development of this condition. Surface active phospholipids like Adsurf are adsorbed on to peritoneal mesothelium, thereby preventing damage from adhesions occurring. The application of Adsurf after surgery will fortify the mesothelial layer, acting as a barrier to prevent adhesions.  Two prospective, randomised clinical studies are ongoing with first results due imminently.  Britannia holds the worldwide rights to this patented treatment and has signed a collaborative agreement with Bespak plc to accelerate the development of the commercial Adsurf device.

Adsurf is available for licensing worldwide, although Britannia intends to retain UK marketing rights.  Please contact us for further details.

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The benefits of apomorphine in Parkinson’s disease are mentioned in the ‘APO-go’ section above.  By re-formulating apomorphine as a nasally delivered product Britannia intends to broaden its patient acceptability.  Using the proprietary ‘Lyonase’ technology, a nasal powder formulation has been developed that is currently in Phase 3 clinical trials in Europe.  Results from Phase 2 clinical trials showed that this nasal powder formulation had an equivalent clinical effect to subcutaneous apomorphine, with no nasal irritation seen over a one-week period. 

Apomorphine nasal powder for Parkinson’s disease is available for licensing worldwide with the exception of the UK, where Britannia intends to market the product; and the US where Britannia has given Vernalis an exclusive option to licence the product (see 'News' page, November 2005).  Please contact us for further details. 

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Given the current levels of interest in using apomorphine to treat Male Erectile Dysfunction (MED), it was only logical for Britannia to combine its experience with apomorphine with its Lyonase technology platform.  The resultant nasal powder apomorphine uses the same formulation algorithm as the apomorphine nasal powder for Parkinson’s disease, albeit at a significantly lower dosage. 

Phase 1 trials have confirmed the fast speed of onset and vastly improved bioavailability of apomorphine nasal powder compared with Uprima 3mg.  The hypothesis Britannia is working upon is one of a genuinely different MED treatment, with efficacy seen within ten minutes and tapering off by two hours: a window of opportunity well tailored to the condition.  Britannia is seeking a co-development partner for this product. 

Apomorphine nasal powder (MED) is available for licensing worldwide.  Please contact us for further details.

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Dihydroergotamine (DHE) has always had a sub-optimal clinical benefit as a result of its formulation challenges.  Although a step was taken towards improving this situation with the development of a liquid nasal formulation of DHE, Migranal®, this still left room for improvement.   By re-formulating the molecule as a dry powder optimised for nasal delivery, Britannia is looking to add an exciting new option to the armamentarium of clinicians treating migraine.  Importantly DHE has a genuinely different clinical profile to the triptans, including a significant reduction in the recurrence of migraine. 

Britannia has signed a collaborative deal with Novartis, whereby Britannia has purchased a copy of the Migranal® nasal spray UK dossier and intends to ‘piggy-back’ onto this dossier with DHE nasal powder data.

DHE nasal powder is available for licensing worldwide.  Please contact us for further details.

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An estimated 95 million people annually worldwide present with wounds requiring medical intervention. The direct cost of chronic wounds in the US alone is estimated at $20-25 billion and affects 15% of the elderly population; a figure which is anticipated to double within 30 years as a consequence of an aging population.

Hyaluronic acid, also known as hyaluronan or HA, is a major component of the extracellular matrix and its availability is critical in determining the rate and success of the wound healing process. It is hypothesised that the application of pumactant induces the production of endogenous HA, thereby promoting wound healing. This hypothesis is strongly supported by two in vivo studies and an in vitro study which concluded that the application of pumactant significantly accelerated the wound healing process.

Pumactant (wound healing) is available for licensing worldwide. Please contact us for further details.

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A proprietary technology for the delivery of relatively potent drugs nasally.  Lyonase is an algorithm that is applied to each candidate molecule to create the ideal formulation required for presentation as a dry powder for nasal delivery.  The benefits of the Lyonase formulation in nasal drug delivery are a more rapid absorption, higher bioavailability, lower nasal irritation and the potential for an improved risk-benefit ratio.  This technology has already been applied to both formulations of apomorphine and the dihydroergotamine formulation being developed by Britannia.

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