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January 12, 2015 By Krystle Vermes , BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff Mundipharma Laboratories GmbH and Purdue Pharmaceuticals announced today that they have entered a collaboration agreement with Laboratorios Esteve . The goal of the deal is to bring next generation products in pain management to marketing. Under the agreement, Mundipharma and Purdue could potentially pay Esteve up to $1 billion, assuming development, regulatory and sales milestones are met. “We are very excited about the opportunity to work with Esteve and the prospects for growth the partnership will bring,” said Antony Mattessich , managing director of Mundipharma International . “This strategic collaboration leverages the companies’ individual strengths, with our ability to bring products from the clinical process through to successful commercialisation complementing Esteve ’s focus on discovering new molecules and approaches to the treatment of pain in the laboratory. Mundipharma , Purdue and Esteve are committed to driving innovation in the pain management space, so the collaboration is a natural fit.” One of the assets covered by the collaboration is E-52862, a first-in-class chemical entity that targets the sigma-1 receptor pathways. It is currently in Phase II trials that cover several neuropathic pain indications. “By combining Esteve ’s, Mundipharma ’s and Purdue ’s complementary strengths and capabilities, we are creating opportunities to improve pain treatment options for patients and reaffirming our ongoing commitment to pain management,” said Albert Esteve , chief executive officer of Esteve . “With our pain pipeline and Mundipharma ’s and Purdue ’s development, market access and commercialisation strengths, we are well-placed to work together to bring innovative new treatments to patients suffering from pain.” A Closer Look at E-52862 In September 2012, Esteve announced the results of a Phase I trial that looked at E-52862 for the treatment of neuropathic pain. The results were published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology , and the drug showed good overall safety, tolerability, pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics. “Because of the MoU and the overall data available at present, we are evaluating the E-52862 in four different types of neuropathic pain and also in the pain in patients receiving opioid, to study the increased analgesic effect of improving these and tolerability,” Program Director Roser Vives said at the time. “The E-52862 also has potential applications for other neurological and psychiatric indications.” The Phase I study incorporated more than 300 patients. Experiments confirmed that the drug is suitable for administration orally, once per day, in humans.