Transcription of Finance News Network Interview with Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX:SPL) CEO Dr Jackie FairleyLelde Smits: Starpharma Holdings Limited
(ASX:SPL) is one of Australia’s leading healthcare innovators. It has developed a deep portfolio of products, based on its novel dendrimer technology for pharmaceutical and other life-science applications. Starpharma has a portfolio of late stage and marketed products based on VivaGel, an innovative antimicrobial agent. These include the VivaGel condom the world’s first antiviral condom, recently launched in Australia and being rolled out to other markets.
I’m Lelde Smits and joining me at ASX Investor Series in Sydney is the Company’s CEO, Dr Jackie Fairley. Jackie welcome.
Dr Jackie Fairley: Thank you very much.
Lelde Smits: Starpharma has made some good progress of late. Could you recap some of the most recent milestones?
Dr Jackie Fairley: Sure, over the last 12 months or so the Company has achieved a number of important milestones. Probably one of the most high profile of those was the approval of the VivaGel condom in Australia last year in July. So that approval actually brings to market the first antiviral condom in the world. It’s an Australian technology; a world first technology and that was obviously very exciting. In addition to that we received a tick from the FDA for our clinical trial for bacterial vaginosis which then subsequently commenced. We’ve also seen some very interesting data coming out of our human trial of DEP docetaxel.
Lelde Smits: What are the Company’s plans for advancing the VivaGel condom and the VivaGel portfolio into new markets, and what progress have you made?
Dr Jackie Fairley: As I said, we’ve launched - the product’s been launched in Australia, is available in Woolworth’s stores throughout the country. It’ll be rolled out into other retail outlets during 2015, but in addition to that, we’ll also start to see the geographic roll out into other markets. We’re expecting further regulatory approvals this year. And we’ll also in the rest of the VivaGel portfolio, have some regulatory submissions in the very near future. Regulatory approvals for the symptomatic relief product, some commercial deals for that product and obviously some further progress on the phase three trials, for our prevention product.
Lelde Smits: Could you detail Starpharma’s major developments including an update on your phase one trial of DEP docetaxel and phase three trial for the prevention of recurrent bacterial vaginosis?
Dr Jackie Fairley: We have two clinical trial programs running currently. The DEP docetaxel trial, so it’s the first-in-man study and interestingly being conducted in Australia. So for the first time Australian patients get to try a new therapy first rather than last, which is what often happens. And so the DEP docetaxel trial running in Australia is in cancer patients, it’s around approaching 50 per cent recruitment and we’ve seen some very interesting results. So we’re not yet seeing any of the normal toxicities that you would expect to see. So things like hair loss and bone marrow suppression, which make people very sick. But we have seen in a number of patients some very interesting evidence of efficacy.
So that’s a very interesting trial and we’ll be looking forward to further data from that. In addition to that, we obviously also have the phase three trials running internationally, in the US, Europe and in Asia for the prevention of recurrent bacterial vaginosis. And those trials are up and running now and progressing very well.
Lelde Smits: As the Company is focused on pharmaceutical and agrochemical sectors, where have you identified future opportunities for growth?
Dr Jackie Fairley: Starpharma’s very lucky in that we have a technology platform. Our technology can be applied to pharmaceuticals, a broad range of pharmaceuticals and a broad range of agrochemical agents. So there’s actually really remarkable optionality within those two applications; in drug delivery and agrochemicals, because the technology can be used to improve existing products. And through our analysis, around 50 per cent of pharmaceutical agents on the market today would be potential candidates. So there’s plenty of opportunity for growth within those two industries.
Lelde Smits: Finally Jackie, could you comment on the major developments to look forward to for Starpharma over the next 12 to 18 months?
Dr Jackie Fairley: We’re expecting some very interesting and exciting milestones across all of the three parts of our business. In the VivaGel portfolio as I said, we’re looking forward to further geographic roll out and further roll out into additional retail outlets, in the Australian market for the VivaGel condom. We also will be making regulatory submissions, further regulatory submissions for the symptomatic relief product for the VivaGel. We’d expect approvals from those and also some commercial deals with those, as well as progress on the phase three program.
We’ll also see further progress on the DEP docetaxel trial, which will wrap up into 2015 and then move into further trials or indeed, potentially be licenced. And similar progress in both agrochemicals, in our partnered programs there and also some of our internal programs.
Lelde Smits: Jackie Fairley, thank you update from Starpharma.
Dr Jackie Fairley: Thank you for the opportunity.
Ends
