Recipharm, a contract development and manufacturing organization, has partnered with Daewoong, a Korea-based pharmaceutical company with a strong presence in respiratory therapeutics, for a 10-year extension of their existing contract, through to 2025, for the manufacture and supply of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), erdosteine. The finished erdosteine product is manufactured by Daewoong Pharmaceutical at its Korean facilities.

Under the terms of the new agreement, Daewoong will annually purchase minimum API quantitiesof erdosteine worth a total of about EUR 25 million ($27 million) from Edmond Pharma, a Recipharm Group company. In return, Daewoong has secured exclusive rights in Korea and Thailand to sell both the original product and to register and market all the new formulations, based on erdosteine, which are currently under development at Edmond Pharma.

The first licensing agreement between Edmond Pharma and Daewoong Pharmaceutical was signed in 1994. As a consequence, Daewoong became Recipharm's exclusive partner in Korea and from 2008 for Thailand as well. The product has been sold under the name Erdos in the Korean market since 1997.

Erdosteine is indicated for the treatment of acute and chronic respiratory diseases. The molecule is marketed in over 40 countries and currently, 75% of erdosteine sold worldwide is supplied by Edmond Pharma. Erdosteine is available in capsule, sachet, suspension and dispersible tablet formulations. The chemical synthesis of API to the manufacture of capsules and dispersible tablets is performed in Recipharm's Paderno Dugnano facility, located just outside of Milan, Italy.

Source: Recipharm