Skyepharma Regulatory News (SKP)

 IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW ORAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATION

Agreement maintains SkyePharma's innovative oral drug delivery capabilities

LONDON, UK, 8 February, 2012 - SkyePharma PLC (LSE: SKP) today announces that, further to the announcement that SkyePharma has sub-let part of its laboratories in Muttenz (Switzerland) to the Aenova Group, Aenova now employs 15 skilled staff in its new development centre, including 11 skilled technical staff recruited by agreement from SkyePharma's oral formulation and oral analytical development team.  Aenova will use its Muttenz development centre to expand its own oral product development activities as well as carrying out oral product formulation and analytical services for SkyePharma on a sub-contract basis.

SkyePharma will continue to offer innovative oral drug delivery solutions to its customers through its business development team, led by Dr. Pierre Delavaud, Executive Vice President: Sales and Business Development, supported by Dr. Guy Vergnault, Vice President: Oral Drug Delivery Solutions, widely recognised in the industry as a leading innovator in oral drug delivery technology solutions.  The alliance with Aenova improves SkyePharma's flexibility and competitiveness as an oral drug delivery provider.

In August 2011, SkyePharma leased its entire pharmaceutical manufacturing business and premises at Saint Quentin-Fallavier, Lyon, France, to the Aenova Group for an initial period of two years, extendable for a further three years.  The new agreement between SkyePharma and Aenova in Switzerland has reinforced the links between the companies and could lead to collaborative development opportunities.

Changes at the Muttenz facility will not affect relationships with existing or potential customers and SkyePharma will continue to provide its full existing range of innovative oral and inhalation drug delivery solutions, using its range of proprietary technologies, subcontracting where appropriate to Aenova for oral development and manufacturing. 

Dr. Pierre Delavaud, Executive Vice President: Sales and Business Development, said: "With this further alliance, SkyePharma is reinforcing its position as an innovator in oral drug delivery, by leveraging its IP and highly skilled innovation capability on solving oral drug delivery challenges for pharmaceutical companies and subcontracting its laboratory and manufacturing activities preferentially to its partner Aenova."

SkyePharma's Chief Executive Officer, Peter Grant, said:

"We are pleased that so many of SkyePharma's skilled oral technical staff have been offered and taken jobs with Aenova, based in the same laboratories in our premises in Muttenz, Switzerland and remain available for our future oral development projects.  The alliance announced last year with Aenova, which is one of Europe's leading contract manufacturing organisations, provided an important opportunity to increase the utilisation of our Lyon facility, generate rental income and enable SkyePharma to focus on its core business of developing drug delivery solutions for the global pharmaceutical industry.

"Through this further alliance we retain the capability to offer innovative oral drug delivery solutions, using the same staff on a sub-contract basis for laboratory work.  Our Muttenz business will continue to operate competitively but with lower fixed costs, providing greater flexibility for our new business and R&D activities."

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About SkyePharma

Using its proprietary drug delivery technologies, SkyePharma develops new formulations of known molecules to provide a clinical advantage.  The Group has eleven approved products in the areas of oral and topical delivery as well as important license and revenue-generating arrangements in inhalation and injectable technologies.  The Group's products are marketed throughout the world by leading pharmaceutical companies.  For more information, visit www.skyepharma.com.

About Aenova

Aenova Holding GmbH was formed in 2008 through the merger of two high profile mid-sized companies: Dragenopharm Apotheker Püschl GmbH and SWISS CAPS AG. As a result of this merger the Aenova Group belongs today to the leading manufacturers and suppliers of pharmaceutical and health supplements in modern oral dosage forms such as soft gelatine capsules, hard capsules, tablets, film tablets, sugar coated tablets, and effervescence tablets for the Pharma and Healthcare industries. The Aenova Group generates annual sales of approx. €260m and has 1500 employees across its sites in Germany (Tittmoning, Berlin, Bad Aibling, Warstein), Switzerland (Kirchberg and Bioggio), Romania (Cornu), France (Lyon) and in the USA (Miami). The Aenova Group, with its HQ in Paehl, thereby offers its customers a Full-Service-Portfolio covering development, purchasing raw materials, production and analysis, through to packaging and logistics.