Iconovo collaborates with international pharmaceutical companies for the development of complete inhalation products, i.e. both inhaler and dry powder formulation. The company offers a portfolio of fully developed inhalers, of which the company has already entered into license or collaboration agreements regarding ICOres, ICOone and ICOcap. Now Iconovo is looking for a licensee for the company's most recently developed inhaler, ICOpre.
ICOpre – one of the company's biggest investments
In recent years, the company has invested significant resources in developing ICOpre, which is a generic version of the well-known inhaler. Ellipta from GSK. ICOpre can be adapted to all types of inhalation powder and can be loaded with up to three different drug substances. The inhaler is designed to have the same convenience and patient handling as Ellipta.
Global sales of Ellipta inhaled drugs amounted to $4,5 billion in 2022. Iconovo is looking to capture a share of this lucrative market. According to Iconovo, ICOpre has a good chance of becoming the first generic competitor to Ellipta in both the EU and the US. The company's first launch opportunity is a generic version of the asthma and COPD drug Relvar in 2027, which sold almost 700 million USD.
Iconovo CEO Johan Waborg commented on the commercial potential of ICOpre:
»ICOpre represents a significant commercial opportunity for Iconovo that can contribute to our revenue targets. ICOpre is equivalent and can therefore be interchangeable with Ellipta, without the risk of patent infringement, making ICOpre a unique business opportunity in the generics market. We have already seen significant interest in ICOpre from several major players.«
Structured process together with Stifel
Iconovo is now looking for a suitable partner for ICOpre. In May 2023, Iconovo hired the global investment bank stifel to manage a carefully structured process to maximize deal value. Stifel is a well-respected bank with extensive experience in establishing value-creating deals in the pharmaceutical industry.
Iconovo recently announced that it has entered the contact phase of the out-licensing process, where it will now place greater focus on contact-making activities. According to the company, several international pharmaceutical companies have shown interest in ICOpre, several of which have signed confidentiality agreements to be able to conduct an in-depth evaluation of ICOpre.
Discussions with the FDA
The project has already attracted a lot of attention and the time is now ripe to accelerate the licensing process, especially considering that Iconovo has recently completed its interaction with the US Food and Drug Administration. FDA regarding the requirements to make ICOpre interchangeable with GSK's inhaler Ellipta in the US.
The company's goal is to complete the out-licensing process for ICOpre in the first half of 2024 and prepare for the launch of a generic version of Relvar in 2027.
