STARPHARMA (SPHRY)

[flemsnopes]

News Thursday, February 11, 2010
Starpharma Holdings Cashed Up, Strong 2010 Pipeline

Jackie Fairley, chief executive officer of Starpharma Holdings (ASX: SPL, OTCQX:SPHRY) said today that 2010 is an exciting year for the company, with a focus on advancing lead product VivaGel® and working with SSL International to develop the VivaGel® coated condom.

US$39 billion market-capped Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) was also highlighted by Ms Fairley as a key partner and driver in the area of human pharmaceuticals. Starpharma’s dendrimer drug delivery technology will be applied to enhance compounds in Lilly’s human pharmaceutical portfolio.

Starpharma’s dendrimers have shown significant commercial applicability in the area of drug delivery and optimisation.

Significantly, the Company has a growing list of pharmaceutical companies that are actively exploring the use of Starpharma’s proprietary dendrimer technology to enhance and improve their pharmaceutical products.

SPL's cash position is strong with $22.7m of equity raised last calendar year.

Starpharma will pursue clinical testing of VivaGel® for Bacterial Vaginosis (BV), the most common vaginal infection worldwide.

Trials will commence of VivaGel® as a BV treatment in 2010, through to the completion of Phase 3 clinical trials with the aim of licensing the product to a major marketing partner. The product offers significant opportunity for licensing royalties to be achieved.

The BV clinical trial program complements the VivaGel® program under development for the prevention of sexually transmitted infections, which continues to progress as both a stand-alone product and a condom-coating.

Starpharma's signing of a research and collaboration agreement between its wholly owned US subsidiary DNT Inc and a prominent multi-billion dollar US based agricultural chemicals company is aimed at enhancing the performance of existing pesticides.

The pesticide market has a estimated market value of US$35.8 billion. DNT's Priostar® dendrimer technology is based on the same basic dendrimer technology that Starpharma already applies to various other uses. This provides further potential for SPL to gain additional revenues from leveraging the dendrimer technology in the agrochemicals market.