Unilife (NSDQ:UNIS) inked another deal with a pharmaceutical company for its Unifill syringes, sending share prices up sharply today.
The latest deal is with British drug maker Hikma Pharmaceuticals (LON:HIK), according to a press release. The $40 million, 15-year contract calls for York, Pa.-based Unilife to supply its Unifill and Unifill Nexus pre-fill syringes for 20 generic injectable drugs made by Hikma, according to the release.
"Unilife has granted Hikma exclusive global rights to its Unifill products for use with these specific generic injectable products. Additional injectable drugs may also be added to the exclusivity list subject to agreement by both parties," Unilife said.
The deal is slated to begin in early 2014, according to the release, with Hikma paying $5 million immediately plus $15 million during the rest of 2014. Another $20 million in milestone payments is slated for 2015, Unilife said.
Investors reacted by sending UNIS shares up 24.3% to $3.48 apiece as of about 10:30 a.m. today.
"This strategic partnership with Hikma enables us to rapidly penetrate the large and fast-growing market for generic injectables. Hikma is one of the world’s fastest-growing pharmaceutical companies, and a top 3 supplier by volume in the $7 billion U.S. market for generic injectables. Together with our recently announced long-term supply contract with Sanofi, this partnership with Hikma instantly positions Unilife to become 1 of the largest suppliers of prefilled syringes in the world," CEO Alan Shortall said in prepared remarks.
It’s the 2nd such deal in as many weeks for Unilife, which signed a contract with Medimmune, AstraZeneca’s (NYSE:AZN) biologics arm, for wearable injectors. In September, Unilife signed a long-term contract to supply its Unifill Finesse anti-thrombotic-filled syringes exclusively to Sanofi (NYSE:SNY), a deal worth a minimum of $5 million and a maximum of $15 million in performance payments.