CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
25 October 2005
Implementatioin Investments
NanoSpheRx Embraces Citadon CW as a Secure Collaboration Platform for Effective Biopharma R&D Technology Transfer
NanoSpheRx, Inc., the leader in protein/peptide stabilization solutions announced at the Citadon Customer Forum that it has signed a licensing agreement with Citadon, a provider of integrated Web-based collaboration, document management and business process management solutions. Under the terms of the agreement, NanoSpheRx will use the Citadon Collaboration Workspace (CW) platform to manage the NanoSpheRx virtual enterprise with a collaboration solution designed to mitigate the technology transfer risk and reduce time to market for pharmaceutical companies that leverage biotech companies as outsourced R&D partners.
NanoSpheRx, an emerging biopharma company based in the Bay Area, plans to integrate the Citadon CW solution into its management practices. Specifically, NanoSpheRx expects the Citadon CW's security features to pass the scrutiny of cautious biopharma companies forced to strike a balance between their need for collaboration with outside biotech partners to facilitate the technology transfer and the commercialization process on the one hand and their need to maintain a competitive confidential advantage in the marketplace on the other hand.
Biotech companies are increasingly serving as outsourced R&D partners for large pharmaceutical companies, which has increased the need for these companies to share confidential data. Biopharma customer collaborations via the Citadon solution will mitigate the technology transfer risk and reduce the time-to-market by licensing with NanoSpheRx. "NanoSpheRx's business model calls for it to provide ongoing technical support services to its licensees. The Citadon CW solution will provide NanoSpheRx with the ability to manage and direct its technical support program. This in turn will lead to the successful integration of NanoSpheRx's protein stability solution into licensees' commercial manufacturing practices", said Bill Southard, CEO of NanoSpheRx, Inc.
"Citadon was the clear choice", according to Dr. Rod Heisterberg, the Managing Partner of Rod Heisterberg Associates, who serves as project manager for NanoSpheRx. "When we were engaged by the Senior Management Team, we analyzed the NanoSpheRx virtual enterprise management requirements. We evaluated several alternative products in terms of features, advantages, and benefits. The Citadon CW platform provided the most scalable and extensible collaboration environment to enable the success of the far flung virtual team including customers and suppliers."
"In the biopharma industry, hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake to deliver new products quickly," says Howard Koenig, President and CEO of Citadon. "The NanoSpheRx virtual enterprise solution, powered by Citadon CW, will enable pharmaceutical companies to collaborate securely with outside R&D partners and accelerate the commercialization of new technologies."
NanoSpheRx, headquartered in Larkspur, California, manufactures particle engineering equipment that stabilizes protein therapeutics and licenses the equipment and technology to biopharma companies. The proprietary process known as Imprex® SFL was discovered and patented by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin under a grant from Dow Chemical. NanoSpheRx later acquired the exclusive rights to all water soluble drugs such as proteins, peptides, RNA, DNA, monoclonal antibodies, and vaccines. NanoSpheRx's Imprex® SFL technology prevents protein aggregation during freezing and drying, preventing immunogenic response, a principal concern for the FDA. Over 14 papers have been published demonstrating the consistent ability of the Imprex SFL process to stabilize protein therapeutics during the freezing and drying process without the need for additional excipients and stabilizers. By reducing the need for these additives, formulation teams can focus their efforts on formulating needle-free protein delivery systems and on achieving room temperature protein stability, thereby increasing patient access and compliance. For more information, please visit: http://www.nanospherx.com .
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