QRxPharma expands MoxDuo deal with Aspen

QRxPharma (ASX:QRX) has expanded its MoxDuo licensing deal with Aspen Pharmacare Holdings to cover a new market, taking the total size of the agreement to $1.5 million before royalties.

Under the expanded deal, QRxPharma will grant Aspen the commercialisation rights to MoxDuo IR - the immediate-release variant of the company’s dual-opioid pain drug - in the South African market.

In exchange, QRxPharma will receive a $250,000 milestone payment upon regulatory approval in the market, as well as double-digit royalties on product sales.

The companies last month reached a licensing agreement for the product covering the Australia, New Zealand and Oceania regions. This deal was worth $1.25 million in regulatory approval milestones plus royalties. It included an option to enter into the licence deal for South Africa.

Aspen has assumed responsibility for all regulatory filings, product launch costs and marketing and sales efforts in the markets.

QRxPharma last year agreed to license the US rights to MoxDuo IR to Actavis in exchange for double-digit royalties.

QRxPharma retains control over controlled-release version MoxDuo CR and intravenous version MoxDuo IV.

MoxDuo is a proprietary formulation of morphine and oxycodone designed to deliver the same results but with fewer side effects than either of the two opioids alone.

QRxPharma (ASX:QRX) shares were trading 0.76% higher at $0.66 as of around 1 pm on Tuesday.