It was announced this week that Zosano Pharma, Inc. (Zosano) and Asahei Kasei Pharma (AKP) formed a collaboration to develop Teribone (teriparatide acetate), a transdermal patch treatment for osteoporosis. Zosano, a biopharmaceutical company and an innovator in the field of drug delivery, develops products using its ZP Patch Technology, a transdermal technology that provides efficient delivery using a noninvasive and painless system.
It was announced this week that Zosano Pharma, Inc. (Zosano) and Asahei Kasei Pharma (AKP) formed a collaboration to develop Teribone (teriparatide acetate), a transdermal patch treatment for osteoporosis. Zosano, a biopharmaceutical company and an innovator in the field of drug delivery, develops products using its ZP Patch Technology, a transdermal technology that provides efficient delivery using a noninvasive and painless system. AKP, a research-based healthcare innovator, has agreed to develop, market and supply Teribone using its human parathyroid hormone, human PTH 1-34, an osteoporosis treatment for patients with high risk of fracture.
Upon the agreement, Teribone uses Zosano’s patented, clinically supported and GMP manufactured ZP Patch Technology to administer AKP’s human PTH (1-34) through the skin. AKP has claimed the exclusive rights to develop and market the transdermal patch product in Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan. Teribone is differentiated through its benefits of self-administration, weekly dosing, room temperature stability, and pain-free delivery without the need for an injection.
“AKP and Zosano have joined their world-class and complementary assets to create what we believe has the opportunity to be the best in class product for bone growth in severe osteoporosis patients” said Gail Schulze, Chief Executive Officer of Zosano. “We believe this relationship will provide a product with superior fracture reduction and enhanced patient compliance compared to the currently available PTH injectables to those patients with a high degree of unmet need.”
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Osteoporosis is a devitalizing disease in which the density and quality of bones are debilitated. An estimated 75 million people are affected in the U.S., Europe and Japan. Bones become fragile and porous with age, and the risk of fracture is greatly increased. Women diagnosed with severe osteoporosis who have had two or more fractures are nine times more likely to fracture than women who have not had a previous fracture.
While most osteoporosis treatments are anti-resorptive compounds, which have been shown to only prevent future bone loss, anabolic compounds like ZP PTH have been shown to stimulate bone growth. During Phase II, all ZP-PTH doses were well tolerated with no systemic adverse events. After such positive results, Zosano’s leading product is ready for Phase III of clinical trials.