Sun Pharma, Moebius tie-up to develop osteoarthritis pain drug

Pharma major Sun Pharmaceutical Industries and Israel-based Moebius Medical on Monday announced signing an exclusive global licensing deal to develop liposomal non-opioid pain product for osteoarthritis.

“Sun Pharmaceutical and Moebius Medical have entered into an exclusive worldwide licensing deal to further develop MM-II, a pharmaceutical candidate for treatment of pain in osteoarthritis. MM-II is a non-opioid product that leverages the physical properties of proprietary liposomes to lubricate arthritic knee joints, thereby reducing friction and wear, consequently leading to joint pain reduction”, a joint statement issued here said.

According to the pact, Sun Pharma will fund further development of Moebius Medical’s product, MM-II, and undertake its global commercialisation. To date, Moebius Medical has completed a first-in-man clinical study at Hadassah Medical Center, demonstrating the product’s fast onset of action and its potentially better efficacy and comparable safety for alleviating osteoarthritis pain as compared to Hyaluronic Acid injection, said the release.

Moebius Medical will conduct requisite pre-clinical studies, and will assume responsibility for product development and manufacturing through the end of Phase-II studies.

Sun Pharma will assume responsibility for further clinical studies, regulatory submissions and product commercialisation. Moebius Medical will receive an upfront payment, development-based and sales-based milestone payments, and tiered royalties on sales from Sun Pharma, it added.

Kirti Ganorkar, Global Head of Business Development, Sun Pharma, said, “Our agreement with Moebius Medical for an osteoarthritis product is a part of our effort to build a branded product pipeline and enrich our global portfolio for pain products”.

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