Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced a licensing agreement with Kirin Brewery Co., Ltd., of Tokyo, Japan, in which Kirin’s Pharmaceutical Division has obtained rights to develop and commercialise Inspire’s lung-disease diagnostic adjunct product, INS316 Diagnostic, in twenty- one Asian countries and regions including Japan.
The initial indication for INS316 will be to aid in the diagnosis of lung cancer, a rapidly growing condition in many Asian regions.
The alliance brings together Inspire’s novel inhaled P2Y2 agonists and expertise in pulmonary hydration and clearance mechanisms with Kirin’s strong presence and expertise in oncology product development and commercialisation.
“Inspire has shown good preliminary clinical utility with INS316 Diagnostic, and we at Kirin are delighted to be bringing this novel approach to lung cancer diagnosis to the Asian market,” said Akihiro Shimosaka, Ph.D., General Manager of the Licensing Department, Kirin’s Pharmaceutical Division.
“We believe that this collaboration complements and strengthens our position in the oncology therapeutic area.”
INS316 Diagnostic, a P2Y2 agonist with a short duration of action, is being developed as a quick-acting inhaled solution as an adjunct for the purpose of diagnosing lung diseases and/or lung infections such as lung cancer and community-acquired pneumonia.Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Inc. discovers and develops new drugs to treat diseases characterized by deficiencies in the body’s innate defence mechanisms of mucosal hydration and mucociliary clearance.
Inspire‘s lead product candidates target respiratory and ophthalmic diseases with inadequate current treatments and which represent large therapeutic market opportunities.
Kirin is Japan’s foremost beer producer and ranks seventh largest in the world by sales volume.
Its pharmaceutical division is applying its knowledge of biotechnology to the development of advanced pharmaceutical products in the field of renal, immune systems and allergy-related diseases, cancer and blood cell production.
Kirin’s ESPO (erythropoietin) and GRAN (G-CSF), co-developed with Amgen, have annual sales exceeding $300 million in Asia.