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MEDIA CENTER Acrux and Population Council Sign Joint Development Agreement for Women’s Health Products NEW YORK (2 December 2003) — The Population Council, an international public health organization, and FemPharm Pty Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Acrux Limited, have signed a joint development agreement to test transdermal spray delivery of contraceptive formulations of Nestorone®. Nestorone is a fourth-generation progestin, extensively researched by the Population Council. FemPharm will evaluate whether its Metered-Dose Transdermal System (MDTS®) could be an effective means of delivering Nestorone across the skin for contraceptive use by women. The Metered-Dose Transdermal System is a small and easy-to-use drug delivery system that applies a pre-set dose of a fast-drying formulation on the skin. This forms an invisible depot within the skin from which the drug is slowly absorbed into the bloodstream. The Population Council and FemPharm will develop the product, with the first study in women slated to begin in 2004. The clinical trial will be conducted at the Sydney Centre for Reproductive Health Research in Ashfield, New South Wales, under the direction of principal investigator Ian Fraser. Fraser is a member of the Population Council’s International Committee for Contraception Research and a Professor in Reproductive Medicine at the University of Sydney. “The Population Council and FemPharm have entered into a joint development agreement to use their respective proprietary rights to develop a contraceptive delivery system that is affordable, safe, cost-effective, reversible, and easy to use by women,” said Sandra Arnold, Vice President of Corporate Affairs for the Population Council. “We are eager to be a part of an endeavor that could result in the first-ever contraceptive delivered by a spray, which would give women and couples around the world another option for managing their fertility.” Dr. Igor Gonda, Managing Director and CEO of Acrux said “We are very pleased to enter into this collaboration with an organization that is a worldwide leader in reproductive health research and with whom we could develop a transdermal contraceptive that has the potential to be at the cutting-edge of healthcare options for women.” The Population Council is an international, nonprofit, nongovernmental research organization that seeks to improve the well-being and reproductive health of current and future generations around the world and to help achieve a humane, equitable, and sustainable balance between people and resources. The Council conducts biomedical, social science, and public health research and helps build research capacities in developing countries. Established in 1952, the Council is governed by an international board of trustees. Its New York headquarters supports a global network of regional and country offices. Acrux Limited's group of companies is engaged in the development of proprietary transdermal and cosmeceutic products using technology licensed from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. The Acrux product portfolio also includes treatments for hormonal deficiencies, pain, anxiety, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, nausea and urinary incontinence using its proprietary ACROSS® enhancers, MDTS® applicators and Patchless Patch® delivery method. In addition to the projects funded internally, Acrux has a research and development collaboration with Pfizer Inc and it has also sub-licensed its technology for anti-psoriatics and local anesthetics to Connetics Australia Pty. Ltd., a subsidiary of the US company Connetics and has sub-licensed the technology for animal health products to Eli Lilly and Company, through its division Elanco Animal Health.
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