U.S.-based contract manufacturer Catalent ($CTLT) reached a deal with Palatin Technologies ($PTN) to manufacture the company’s bremelanotide pen injector, which is used to treat female sexual dysfunction.
Terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed.
Bremelanotide is an on-demand, subcutaneous injectable peptide melanocortin receptor agonist designed to treat hypoactive sexual desire disorder in premenopausal women, the company said in a release. Phase 3 clinical trials are on-going, with a commercial launch anticipated in 2018.
The devices will be produced at Catalent's facility in Brussels, Belgium, which is the company’s flagship sterile fill finish facility, with a syringe-filling capacity of over 100 million units.
“We selected Catalent as our partner because of their proven expertise in custom sterile manufacturing solutions, and their track record of successful new product introductions,” said Stephen T. Wills, Palatin’s CFO and COO, said in a statement.
In April, rumors circulated that Swiss CDMO Lonza was in talks to acquire Catalent, though there has been little word of the deal since.
Deal talk came in the wake of problems Catalent had at its facility in Beinheim, France. Last year, French regulators had it close the plant for four months after Catalent suspected someone in the soft-gel capsule plant had sabotaged products. French authorities launched a criminal probe after a series of incidents within the facility involving out-of-place capsules.
The company said in May that the suspension of production at the soft-gel capsule plant shaved $21 million off its top line in the previous quarter and led it to lower its forecast for the year.
- check out the release
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