Calzada scores licence deal for AOD9604

Calzada (ASX:CZD) has signed the first licensing agreement covering the manufacture and sale of AOD9604, a peptide drug with potential applications in treating obesity and in muscle repair.

The company has signed a non-exclusive licence with Australian Custom Pharmaceuticals, a company which has been filling orders for AOD9604 as a compounding pharmacy.

AOD9604 is a modified fragment of human growth hormone originally developed as an anti-obesity drug. It made the news last year with word that Essendon football players were allegedly using the drug to build muscle mass while it was on the list of banned substances from the World Anti-Doping Authority.

According to Calzada, over the last 18 months a growing number of Australian medical practitioners have been prescribing AOD9605 to reduce body fat and in muscle, tendon and cartilage repair.

Calzada subsidiary Metabolic Pharmaceuticals owns patents and IP around using the peptide in these applications, and has been exploring options to derive revenue from the sale of AOD9604 products infringing this IP. Metabolic does not manufacture, distribute or supply the peptide.

The deal with Australian Custom Pharmaceuticals could potentially pave the way for more licensing deals with other compounding pharmaceutical companies in Australia and in other markets.

Calzada said it is seeking double-digit royalties on the final sale price of compounded medicine products using AOD9604.

Calzada (ASX:CZD) shares were trading 2.67% higher at $0.077 as of around 2 pm on Tuesday.