Benzinga | Sep 1, 2020 08:19AM EDT

Dar Bioscience And Avomeen Form Partnership To 'Accelerate the Development of Dar's Novel Pipeline of Women's Health Programs'

SAN DIEGO and ANN ARBOR, Mich., Sept. 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dar?Bioscience, Inc.(NASDAQ:DARE), a leader in women's health innovation, andAvomeen, an accredited, independent contract research, development, and manufacturing organization specializing in chemical analysis and product development, today announced that the companies have signed an agreement under which Avomeen will provide contract product development laboratory services with a team specifically assembled to support the advancement of Dar?'s innovative pipeline of investigational products designed to address persistent unmet needs in women's health. The unique partnership model is intended to enable Dar? to leverage Avomeen's scientific expertise, including advanced instrumentation and development techniques, and accelerate development of key programs in a capital-efficient manner.



Dar? and Avomeen are currently collaborating on development-stage programs, including Ovaprene(r), an investigational hormone-free, monthly contraceptive, and intend to expand their partnership to include more programs in Dar?'s women's health pipeline. Central to the collaboration is Avomeen's ability to develop customized protocols, test methods, and formulations with processes tailored to unique product requirements and specifications. This capability aligns with Dar?'s portfolio of potential first-in-category products, which often require a customized approach to method development.

"One of the clear goals of this partnership is to leverage Avomeen's ingenuity and expertise in biopharmaceutical development to support our clinical program initiatives in women's health," said Sabrina Martucci Johnson, President and CEO of Dar? Bioscience. "Avomeen has a proven track record and impressive regulatory accreditations combined with cutting-edge technological capabilities that we believe will enable us to accelerate development activities across our portfolio. Further, we believe that the partnership agreement will result in greater efficiencies and savings in our research and development expenditures."

Under the terms of the agreement, Avomeen will be Dar?'s preferred provider of product development laboratory services for an initial three-year period, provided that Avomeen has the expertise, resources and availability to perform the services that Dar? requires. In exchange for receiving that exclusive service provider status, Avomeen will assemble operating and oversight teams committed to the partnership and provide a preferred discounted pricing structure and, if volume reaches designated levels, will also provide scientific personnel dedicated exclusively to supporting Dar?'s development programs covered by the agreement.

"Avomeen is excited about this partnership and is well positioned to augment the existing clinical technical and regulatory competencies at Dar?," said Mark Harvill, CEO of Avomeen. "We have been able to apply our novel scientific and technical solutions to Dar?'s diverse portfolio, in large part due to the collaborative approach that Dar? implements with its development partners like Avomeen."