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Pharmaceutical company Pharmaxis (ASX: PXS) is pleased to announce its transition to a strategic business plan with an increased focus on innovation and partnering in order to generate value.  The new direction follows the completion of two years of restructuring that included partnering the Pharmaxis lead product Bronchitol in major markets worldwide, cutting the company’s expense base and employee numbers and the sale of an early stage drug asset to Boehringer Ingelheim.

Pharmaxis CEO Mr Gary Phillips said, “Restructuring Pharmaxis and withdrawing from a direct commercial presence in global markets whilst preserving value and creating the foundations for future growth has been a significant challenge.  We have now put Bronchitol on a path to profitability and reduced our cash burn, in order to focus on earlier stage development projects such as the SSAO and LOXL2 inhibitor programs. ”

FRENCHS FOREST, Australia and INGELHEIM, Germany – May 18, 2015 – Boehringer Ingelheim and pharmaceutical company Pharmaxis (ASX: PXS) announce that Boehringer Ingelheim has exercised its option and acquired  the investigational drug PXS4728A, to develop it for the treatment of the liver-related condition NASH and to prevent its consequences. PXS4728A is a Semicarbazide-Sensitive Amine Oxidase/Vascular Adhesion Protein-1 (SSAO/VAP-1) Inhibitor discovered by Pharmaxis that works by blocking leucocyte adhesion and tissue infiltration in inflammatory processes. Pharmaxis has developed it through to phase 1 clinical studies, demonstrating oral bioavailability, long-lasting target inhibition and good tolerability and safety. 

NASH is the progressive form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the most common liver disorder in Western industrialized nations.  It is regarded as a major cause of fibrosis and cirrhosis of the liver and is an area of high unmet clinical need. The high prevalence of type 2 diabetes and obesity, which can lead to NASH and its long term consequences, is considered to make NASH one of the most common causes of advanced liver disorders in coming decades.

Pharmaceutical company Pharmaxis (ASX: PXS) today announced it has entered into an exclusive distribution and supply agreement with global pharmaceutical company Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA (Chiesi) for the commercialisation of Bronchitol® (mannitol) for cystic fibrosis in adults aged 18 years and above in Germany, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Under the terms of the agreement Chiesi will take over responsibility for the marketing, sales and distribution of Bronchitol from June 2015.  The product was launched in Germany in 2012, in the United Kingdom in 2013 and is planned to be launched in Ireland after the current assessment for reimbursement is concluded. Germany and the United Kingdom account for more than ninety five percent of current European sales.