Iconovo AB (publ) announced that it has engaged the global investment bank Stifel to lead a structured process to out-license its proprietary pre-filled inhaler ICOpre®?. Iconovo has previously announced that negotiations are ongoing with an unnamed pharmaceutical company regarding a potential license agreement for ICOpre®?. In light of increased interest in the inhaler platform from other pharmaceutical companies, Stifel will now lead the continued out-licensing process to maximize the commercial value of a future agreement.

The negotiations with an unnamed pharmaceutical company regarding ICOpre®?, announced in January 2023, are currently being conducted at a slower pace than before. This is to give other interested companies sufficient time to evaluate the inhaler platform. Iconovo believes that a structured out-licensing process will help maximize the value of potential future agreements.

ICOpre® is a pre-filled inhaler that can be adapted to any type of inhalation powder and offers the user convenience in line with the well-known Ellipta inhaler from GSK. ICOpre® can be loaded with up to three different drug substances for simultaneous inhalation. The inhaler has a precise dose counter that shows how many doses remain.

ICOpre® is based on a unique, patent-pending principle that minimizes the risk of infringement of other inhalers' intellectual property rights. A global structured out-licensing process for ICOpre® is expected to be completed in the first half of 2024, which means continuing good opportunities for ICOpre® to become the first challenger to Ellipta in both the EU and the US. The first launch opportunity in the portfolio is expected to be for a generic version of Relvar in 2027.