Hapten Sciences and Particle Sciences Partner to Bring Poison Ivy Product into Clinical Trials

Drug delivery CDMO Particle Sciences has partnered with Hapten Sciences to progress Hapten’s lead product into the clinic. The product is a vaccine developed to lessen or eliminate contact dermatitis from poison ivy, oak and sumac exposure. According to Raymond Hage, CEO of Hapten Sciences: “Experts report that 50 to 85% of the population in the US is sensitive to urushiol and, when adequately exposed, will suffer an allergic reaction. Aside from the actual physical discomfort, these reactions cost the federal government and private business millions each year in lost work days. For instance, in the western US, annually, about one third of US Forest Service firefighters will leave a fire as a result of exposure to poison ivy, oak and sumac.”

Particle Sciences will be manufacturing the Phase I/II materials of Hapten’s first human studies scheduled for 2014. According to Mark Mitchnick, MD, CEO of Particle Sciences: “We have worked with Hapten in the past and are delighted to be helping them bring this important product to market. This a great use of our sterile solution manufacturing capacity: producing and filling a novel product along with providing complete analytic (service info) and release testing (service info). We have steadily expanded or cGMP manufacturing capacity with a focus on sterile and otherwise challenging products and have several in the queue already for early 2014.”

Particle Sciences, Inc., +1 610 861 4701, info@particlesciences.com, www.particlesciences.com.

Hapten Sciences, Inc., +1 901 747 3946, www.haptensciences.com.