Swedish Oasmia targets $16B worth US animal health care market

A swedish oncology company Oasmia Pharmaceutical AB, which works on finding cancer cures for animals and humans, said it would move its veterinary assets to the United States.

Oasmia said on Monday that the vet oncology section to be moved to the U.S. will include Paccal Vet and Doxophos Vet. The company said the reason is “further development and commercialization efforts”.

The company has been focusing on the development of veterinary oncology technologies and it has some of the first products in this segment. Oasmia has two key chemotherapy related products for companion animals for which it owns worldwide distribution rights, with exception for Japan; Paccal Vet, and Doxophos Vet.  Oasmia notes that there is currently no pharmaceutical Taxol compared to Paccal Vet among veterinary drugs.

Paccal Vet is a patented formulation of the well-known substance paclitaxel and XR17. Veterinarians usually treat animals with human drugs only with adapted dosage.

Doxophos Vet, a formulation of doxorubicin and Oasmia’s XR17 technology, is currently under development for the treatment of lymphoma, the most common cancer in dogs. Doxophos Vet has been granted MUMS designation by the FDA for the treatment of lymphoma in dogs. The product candidate is currently in Phase II trial, for dose confirmation.

Oasmia says its key objective within veterinary medicine is to transfer the products on a broader scale to a larger number of veterinary clinics. It will transfer the rights for the two cancer drugs to its American subsidiary.

“With approximately 42,000 general veterinary practitioners in the United States and 2,500 entering the job force each year, Oasmia has identified tremendous market opportunity for Paccal Vet and Doxophos Vet. Small animal (dog and cat) medicine(s) represent the bulk of the approximately $16 billion market for pet treatment products, a number that has nearly doubled since 2001. By reducing side effects and making the treatment more appealing to general practitioners, Oasmia believes it can garner significant market share as the industry continues to expand,” the company said in its press release.