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11 January 2006

 

Collaboration with Leading Medical Devices Company

 

 

West Malling, UK--Phoqus Group plc ("Phoqus" or the "Company") (AIM:PQS), the oral drug delivery and development company, today announces that it has entered into an agreement to conduct a feasibility study with one of the world's leading medical devices companies.

Under the agreement, Phoqus will use its patented electrostatic technology to coat an implantable medical device in order to control the release of an active substance. The Phoqus technology has the potential to improve precision and uniformity of coverage as well as significantly improving the efficiency of coating and reducing drug and polymer waste.

Preliminary studies have demonstrated that Phoqus' electrostatic technology is compatible with the coating polymers that are currently used, and provides uniform and complete coverage of all device surfaces.

The drug device market was valued at around $5bn in 2004 and is expected to grow to over $11bn by 2010.

Andy Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Phoqus, commented:

"We are delighted to be working with a leading company in one of the fastest growing healthcare sectors. Our electrostatic coating technology is well suited to the delivery of drugs onto devices as it can provide precise and uniform coverage. With its potential to reduce drug wastage and inconsistencies that limit current approaches, we believe that Phoqus's technology can play an integral role in the development of this market."

 

 

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Enquiries:
Phoqus Group plc - Tel: 01732 870227
Andy Jones, Chief Executive Officer
Peter Johnson, Chief Financial Officer

Financial Dynamics - Tel: 020 7831 3113
Sarah MacLeod/John Gilbert


Notes to editors

About Phoqus
Phoqus is a drug delivery company using proprietary electrostatic powder coating technology, LeQtracoat®, to provide an extensive range of innovative systems targeting the oral drug delivery market. Drug delivery technologies are applied to pharmaceuticals to provide benefits such as controlling the release of a drug into the body, enhancing patient compliance and improving the performance and efficacy of an existing drug. In turn, these benefits enable pharmaceutical companies to extend the life cycles of their products, strengthen their patent protection and thereby enhance the value of their marketed products and development pipelines.

In addition, the Company has developed its coating technology to create novel images on drug tablets as a means of brand enhancement and protection against counterfeiting.

Phoqus is the only company using electrostatic powder coating technology for pharmaceutical applications and has over 120 granted patents.

To assist the delivery of its strategy, Phoqus has entered into a strategic partnership with Cardinal Health, the world's largest supplier of services to the healthcare industry, to provide commercial scale GMP manufacturing to collaboration partners. Cardinal Health also co-markets Phoqus' drug delivery and image enhancement systems in all major markets.

Phoqus, based in Kent, was established in 1998 as a spin-out from Colorcon, a division of Berwind Pharmaceutical Services Inc.

The Company was admitted to trading on AIM in November 2005 raising £10m and is listed on AIM under the symbol "PQS".

Further background on the Company can be found at www.phoqus.com.

 

Phoqus Pharmaceuticals Limited
10 Kings Hill Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent, ME19 4PQ
Telephone: +44 (0)1732 870227, Fax: +44 (0)1732 870228
E-mail: info@phoqus.com

www.phoqus.com