Listed company Echo Technologies has taken another step towards its goal of becoming a vertically integrated pharmaceutical business, signing an agreement with Malaysian firm Xepa Soul Pattinson.
Listed company Echo Technologies has taken another step towards its goal of becoming a vertically integrated pharmaceutical business, signing an agreement with Malaysian firm Xepa Soul Pattinson.
Echo is also about to issue a prospectus to raise up to $5.5 million to fund the acquisition of generic pharmaceutical maker Ramprie Laboratories.
Echo is seeking to leverage the chemistry expertise housed inside its 80 per cent owned subsidiary Epichem, which opened a $500,000 state-of-the-art laboratory at Murdoch University in February.
Epichem already provides contract services to international and Australian drug companies and is pursuing its own research and development activities.
Echo director Paul D’Sylva said this expertise would be used to develop generic drug products following expiry of patents.
“Our medicinal and synthetic chemistry expertise is a real fillip for formulating and then going into production of patent expired medicines,” Dr D’Sylva said.
Echo is planning to conduct its own drug manufacturing activities at Ramprie Laboratories, a 30 year old business in Welshpool.
Ramprie is currently rebuilding its premises and seeking to regain regulatory approvals following a fire last September. It had nearly 100 registered products, mostly sun-screens, and will diversify into veterinary drugs and other high margin products.
The second leg to Echo’s strategy is its alliance with Xepa, which manufactures generic drugs in Malaysia.
Dr D’Sylva said the memorandum of understanding signed this week was a precursor to a full licencing agreement.
He said regulatory differences between Australia and Malaysia meant Echo would be able to have drugs in the local market on the day patents expired, rather than having to gear up local production over several months.
Echo has also signed an agreement for the marketing and distribution of generic drugs across Australia.
Dr D’Sylva said about 400 drugs were registered under Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and 133 of these were due to expire over the next six years.
Several other listed companies, including Melbourne-based Institute of Drug Technology, are targeting the same market opportunity.
New listings on the Australian Stock Exchange include Genepharm Australasia and Lipa Pharmaceuticals.
