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NicOx acquires Nitromed’s NO-donating patents

24 Apr 2009 - NicOx S.A. announced it has agreed to purchase Nitromed’s unlicensed patent estate covering nitric oxide-donating compounds. According to the company, this acquisition gives NicOx by far the strongest intellectual property position on this technology worldwide, including a large number of new patents with potential uses in NicOx’ core areas of inflammatory and cardiometabolic disorders. Under the terms of the agreement, NicOx will pay Nitromed €2 million at signature and a further €4 million upon NicOx fulfilling certain future business criteria. NicOx is not acquiring any rights to BiDil (isosorbide dinitrate/hydralazine hydrochloride).
 
Nitromed announced that it halted its drug discovery research programs in March 2006, due to financial considerations. This research had previously been focused on synthesizing and patenting new chemical entities (NCEs) combining an existing, marketed medicine with a nitric oxide donor. NicOx is acquiring the vast majority of the resulting patents, which represent Nitromed’s unlicensed intellectual property portfolio on nitric oxide-donating compounds. This includes numerous composition of matter and treatment patents (as well as pending patent applications) in the United States and other important pharmaceutical markets, many of which have expiration dates later than 2020. These include a large number with potential uses for inflammatory and cardiometabolic disorders, which are core areas of focus for NicOx’ internal research and development. NicOx is also taking royalty free licenses to additional patents under this agreement, which it considers strategically important.