ViroXis Corporation today announced a multi-million dollar agreement with TFS Corporation (TFC) to supply up to three tonnes of East India Sandalwood Oil per annum for the development of its botanical drug, albuterpenoids. The long-term supply agreement is conditional upon ViroXis gaining regulatory approval for commercialisation of albuterpenoids. The company has successfully completed a phase II investigator sponsored clinical trial, and expects to enter phase III FDA trials in 2010.
Chief Executive Officer of ViroXis, Dr. Paul Castella said: “Securing a long term supply agreement is a critical step for ViroXis as the drug is derived from therapeutic grade sandalwood oil. TFS is an important supply partner as it produces the world’s only sustainable supply of Sandalwood oil from its 2,500 hectares of plantations in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.” TFS Executive Chairman, Mr Frank Wilson said: “The ViroXis agreement marks the company’s first commercial scale contract within the pharmaceutical industry. “While the market for Indian Sandalwood oil is well established in the high-end cosmetics and fragrance houses, it has only scratched the surface of the pharmaceutical market at a time when global demand is outstripping supply,” Mr Wilson said.
ViroXis is a development stage botanical based pharmaceutical company focused on advancing and commercialising innovative medical products. ViroXis is currently developing the albuterpenoids, a novel, patented, defined mixture of compounds derived from East India sandalwood oil. Sandalwood oil has a long history of traditional use for a variety of conditions, including Human Papilloma Virus skin infections and pre-cancerous skin lesions. TFS Corporation Ltd (TFC) is an owner and manager of Indian sandalwood plantations in the east Kimberley region of Western Australia. As part of its vision to be a vertically integrated producer of finished sandalwood products, TFS owns a significant proportion of the plantations in its own right and in 2008 acquired Mount Romance Australia (Mount Romance), the Albany-based sandalwood processor and oil distributor.
Tags: Biotechnology, New contract, TFC, TFS Corporation
