2012 Annual Report - Prometic - Life Science, Inc.

PROMETIC’S BUSINESS IS ORGANIZED AND BASED UPON 2 DISTINCT BUSINESS SEGMENTS.
PROMETIC’S STRATEGY IN RELATION TO ITS PROTEIN TECHNOLOGIES BUSINESS SEGMENT HAS
BEEN WELL DEFINED BY MANAGEMENT; APPLYING PROMETIC’S PROPRIETARY TECHNOLOGIES
TO NEW AND EXISTING MARKETS FOR LARGE-SCALE DRUG PURIFICATION, DRUG DEVELOPMENT,
PROTEOMICS (THE STUDY OF PROTEINS) AND THE ELIMINATION OF PATHOGENS.
A- BIOSEPARATION
THE TECHNOLOGY
Our bioseparation technologies are used in a
variety of applications for the production and
purification of biopharmaceuticals, for the
capture and removal of biocontaminants or
to extract and recover valuable proteins from
various sources. This is a process commonly
known as “affinity chromatography”. This
process is mainly used for the separation
and isolation of proteins. The technique
relies upon the ability of proteins to
recognize and bind to target biomolecules
(ligands) in a specific and reversible manner.
Affinity chromatography uses an adsorbent
comprised of a porous support matrix to
which the ligand is attached. An affinity
separation is then performed by passing
the protein solution over the adsorbent,
incorporating the ligand, so that the
target protein is adsorbed while allowing
contaminants (other proteins, lipids,
carbohydrates, DNA, pigments, etc.) to pass
through without hindrance. The adsorbent is
normally contained within a chromatography
column. Following adsorption, the adsorbent
is washed with buffer to remove residual
contaminants and then the bound protein
is eluted in pure form.
COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS
Our proprietary affinity adsorbents are
manufactured in our UK based subsidiary
(Isle of Man), ProMetic BioSciences Ltd
(“PBL”). They are sold to and used by some
of the most reputable biopharmaceutical
companies in the world in their respective
drugs manufacturing processes. Through
years of research and development, PBL has
built an extensive ligand library and now
offers ligands targeting a vast selection of
proteins. PBL has experienced continued
revenue growth and profitability since 2007.
In 2012, PBL contributed to the growth and
increased profitability of the Corporation
by shipping products for more than $11.5
million compared to $5.2 million in 2011.
With more than 28 commercial applications
and products currently under development
and more than 14 applications and products
already approved utilizing ProMetic’s
technologies, PBL’s growing stream of
recurring revenues is expected to achieve
critical mass status and play an important
role in the overall growth and profitability
objectives of the Corporation in the
coming years.
As an example of the commercial potential
of the technology, one of ProMetic’s many
clients placed a $4.2 million purchase order
again in May 2012 relating to the purchase
of a proprietary Mimetic Ligand affinity
adsorbent developed and manufactured
by ProMetic’s UK subsidiary. It is worth
noting that this client has not yet received
regulatory approval for its product currently
being developed and that the anticipated
order quantities are expected to significantly
increase once the product reaches regulatory
approval and commercialization stages.
This principle holds true in general for the
vast majority of projects in which ProMetic’s
technology is involved.
Another example of a commercialized
proprietary affinity resin is PrioClear TM .
The PrioClear range of prion binding
affinity resins was developed through
Pathogen Reduction and Diagnostic
Technologies, Inc. (“PRDT”), initiated as a
collaborative venture with the American Red
Cross and now majority owned by ProMetic
BioSciences Ltd (PBL). PRDT has applied
its proven affinity technologies to the design
and development of a panel of affinity
adsorbents that enable the highly effective
capture of prion from a range of biological
materials. The PrioClear resins are used
commercially to increase the safety of blood
and blood-derived products.
ProMetic is already seeing the commercial
benefits of selling PrioClear TM . ProMetic
received a $2.5 million purchase order
under its ongoing supply agreement with
Octapharma, a leading, Swiss based,
independent global plasma fractionation
company that specializes in human
proteins. In this application, PrioClear
is incorporated into Octapharma’s
manufacturing process for its solvent/
detergent treated plasma product,
Octaplas LG ® . Octaplas LG ® is approved for
marketing in several European countries and
the USA and ProMetic’s sales to OctaPharma
are expected to increase on a yearly basis.
As demonstrated in the graphic below,
revenues from PBL augments year over year
and should continue to do so as ProMetic’s
clients receive regulatory approval and move
into commercial production and supply.
Million $
25
20
15
10
5
0
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Year over year growth of sales
9PROMETIC LIFE SCIENCES INC.