Iconovo develops complete inhalation products for a global market together with international pharmaceutical companies. The products are based on the company's inhaler platforms: ICOres, ICOpre, ICOcap, ICOone and ICOone Nasal.
The company has several licensing agreements for the development of both generic drugs and completely new types of treatments, so-called originator drugs. In addition, the company has established a CDMO operation for the contract development of inhaled drugs.
Order from one of the ten largest pharmaceutical companies
Iconovo has recently received an order of SEK 220 from one of the ten largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, in terms of turnover. The company in question plans to carry out a vitrostudy to assess the suitability of one of Iconovo's multi-dose inhalers for the development of an original drug. If the evaluation is positive, it could lead to an in-depth collaboration between the parties.
Company CEO Johan Waborg looks forward to the collaboration, according to a press release:
“We are excited to collaborate with one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in the world. This further confirms that Iconovo offers world-class inhalers that even the largest and most successful companies want to test and potentially use in their development of new inhalation products.”
De 10 largest pharmaceutical companies in terms of turnover is Pfizer, AbbVie, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co, Novartis, Hoffmann-La Roche, Bristol-Myers Squibb, AstraZeneca, Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline.
CDMO operations bear fruit
Iconovo has recently expanded its Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO) business. The company has five active customer contracts and expects to add three to five new contracts per year. The area is expected to provide a good profit margin on work performed and constitute a significant part of the company's revenue going forward. In addition, new and existing CDMO agreements may lead to licensing agreements or sales of inhalers, which constitute the long-term value creation for the company.
The collaboration with Kiox Pharma continues
A clear example of the favorable nature of Iconovo's CDMO business model is the new supplementary agreement with the Danish company Kiox Pharma for the continued development of a new treatment for interstitial lung disease (ILD). The project is based on a reformulation of an FDA-approved drug substance in Iconovo's capsule inhaler ICOcap.
The agreement is a continuation of the collaboration that began last year for a feasibility study and a preclinical pharmacokinetic study. The new agreement entails an additional revenue of SEK 2,7 million in 2024, in addition to the SEK 1,6 million that Iconovo has already received in 2023.
Launching improved version of ICOone Nasal
Iconovo has also launched an improved version of the ICOone Nasal, the world's only inhalation-powered nasal powder inhaler. The further developed inhaler is designed to offer high technical performance and minimize the risk of user error. The design of the new version is based, among other things, on the results of a user study.
Iconovo has further developed the inhaler within the framework of the collaboration with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which aims to establish a fast track for inhalation therapy in the event of a new viral pandemic. An inhaled vaccine reduces residual waste and the need for a cold chain compared to inhaled vaccines. In addition, ICOone Nasal can deliver vaccine to both the upper and lower respiratory tract, which provides better efficacy than injected vaccines according to scientific studies.
Strengthened competence through accelerator programs and recruitment
Iconovo was recently also selected as 10XHEALTH, a scale-up program led by Smile and Medicon Village in Lund and which is partly financed by European Regional Development FundThe purpose of the program is to provide expertise in, among other things, financing and leadership to life science companies in southern Sweden to accelerate their growth and commercialization.
In addition, Iconovo has strengthened its operations by recruiting Gary Pitcairn as new Senior Scientific Advisor. He is an expert in the development of pharmaceutical formulations for inhalation, holds a PhD from University of Nottingham and has previously held leading roles in AstraZeneca, Mylan, Pfizer, Nanologica.
