Israel-based pharmaceutical company Oramed Pharmaceuticals has secured a $52m investment from pharmaceutical company Guangxi Wuzhou Zhongheng Group in return for a 10% stake, Reuters has reported.
The stake purchase gives Wuzhou exclusive distribution rights for Oramed’s insulin treatment in China, pending regulatory approval, according to Fierce Drug Delivery.
Oramed has developed a platform dubbed Protein Oral Delivery which is able to protect the proteins contained in oral medication from acids in the human stomach. The company hopes to use the platform to treat diseases including type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Wuzhou previously invested $5m in Oramed in November 2014, in return for 696,378 shares. Oramed went public on the Nasdaq stock exchange in 2006, and its shares are trading at $7.19 at the time of writing.
Oramed’s shares were at one point trading at $26, but its share price dropped significantly in April 2014 after an error in formulation led to a third of the patients in a Phase 2a trial for a type 2 diabetes treatment absorbing less than half the dosage. Oramed recently launched a Phase 2b trial for the drug.
Nadav Kidron, chief executive of Oramed, said: “China offers a substantial market opportunity for our diabetes focused pipeline and we are delighted to have Wuzhou as a supportive shareholder, as they can help strategically guide our development and commercial entrance into China.”