Aug 3, 2010
Press Release

C&O inks RMB32 million deal to sell antiviral ingredients

Mainboard-listed C & O Pharmaceutical Technology (Holdings) Limited (“C&O” or “the Group”) today announced that the Group’s has secured a sales contract which brings a revenue of RMB32 million in three years with a third party for the exclusive distribution of C&O-developed Cidofovir Dihydrate. Cidofovir Dihydrate is an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) for the production of Cidofovir, which is widely used in the United States. The distributor will be responsible to seek United States Food and Drug Administration (“U.S. FDA”) approval of C&O’s Cidofovir Dihydrate.

Cidofovir is an injectable antiviral medication for the treatment of cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis in patients with weak immune defences caused by various diseases including Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). About 5% of HIV patients develop CMV retinitis.

U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that around 1.1 million people were living with HIV in the United States by the end of 2006, and new infections are expected to continue at a high level, with an estimated 56,300 Americans becoming infected with HIV each year. Hence, the increasing demand for treatment of HIV complications, together with the expiry of Cidofovir’s U.S. patent, will drive the demand for Cidofovir’s API - Cidofovir Dihydrate.

Mr Gao Bin, Executive Chairman of C&O, said, “The success of our research and development (R&D) on this API has added new excitement for the Group. This breakthrough marks our maiden step to capture income upstream. Our R&D people are working hard at developing more potential APIs, and we look forward to more successful discoveries in the near future.”

This new contract is not expected to have any material impact on the Group’s earnings for the financial year ended 30 June 2010 (“FY2010”).