Amarin and NanoCarrier in new delivery technology agreement

Amarin Development, the Swedish subsidiary of Amarin Corporation, is to establish a strategic technology partnership with NanoCarrier Company, of Chiba, Japan, to develop novel controlled release technologies for use in pharmaceutical products. The companies will share the costs of development together with any resulting commercial benefits.

The collaboration will initially focus on the feasibility of developing a novel technology for the oral controlled release of nanoparticles by combining Amarin's Diffusion Controlled Vesicle (DCV) controlled release technology and NanoCarrier's micellar nanoparticle controlled release technology. If successful, the combination technology would offer the potential of oral delivery to an extensive range of molecules that are now difficult or impossible to deliver orally, including certain water insoluble compounds, peptides and proteins.

Amarin's DCV system is used for the controlled release of substances for periods up to 24 hours. The patented technology consists of a tablet core incorporating the active ingredient surrounded by a water-insoluble membrane containing minute particles of water-soluble material. The soluble particles dissolve when the tablet is ingested, resulting in a macro-porous film structure through which drug is released at a steady rate. Principal licensees for the technology include Pharmacia, Sanofi-Synthelabo and Tanabe Seiyaku.

Until now, NanoCarrier's micellar nanoparticle technology has been developed primarily for the parenteral delivery of pharmaceuticals, genes and diagnostic reagents. The two-layer technology is based upon an inner hydrophobic polymer with an outer shell of hydrophilic polymer. Nanoparticles are formed from spontaneous aggregation of biodegradable block copolymers and these may be used to encapsulate drugs, as artificial gene vectors, or coated externally with a bound substance.

NanoCarrier recently entered into an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline to determine the feasibility of delivering an undisclosed compound using NanoCarrier's proprietary micellar nanoparticle technology.