Clinical Technologies Associates Inc. said Tuesday it hasreceived funding from Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corp. to studythe feasibility of using CTA's oral drug delivery system withan undisclosed injectable drug marketed by Sandoz.

CTA is developing the technology to deliver drugs orally thatnow must be injected. Drugs such as heparin and insulin can'tbe taken orally because they are proteins or carbohydrates thatwould be digested.

The company's encapsulation technology uses a patentedpolymer carrier composed of amino acids. The carrier isdesigned as a hollow sphere that protects the drug under theacidic conditions of the gastrointestinal tract. In neutral orbase environments, the carrier dissolves. CTA can control thepH conditions under which this occurs.

Michael Goldberg, president and chief executive, said CTAdoesn't know where along the gastrointestinal tract thecarrier gets absorbed into the blood stream or if it is absorbedintact. But the company does know that the carrier is absorbedwithin 10 to 15 minutes.

The Elmsford, N.Y., company did not divulge terms of the dealwith Sandoz, the East Hanover, N.J.-based subsidiary of theSwiss pharmaceutical company. But Goldberg said CTAtypically receives a $250,000 up-front payment for afeasibility study. If it is unsuccessful, CTA will returnbetween 60 percent and 75 percent of the funding. Ifsuccessful, CTA will enter immediately into a $1 million to$1.5 million optimization phase. Clinical development is thenhandled by the contracting company. CTA receives about a 10percent royalty on sales.

CTA has similar deals with The Upjohn Co. for an undiscloseddrug and with Genetics Institute Inc. for a blood growth factor.Both are in early-stage development.

CTA stock (NASDAQ:CTAI) closed Tuesday at $13.25, up 38cents.

-- Karen Bernstein BioWorld Staff

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