Allergica signs development accord with Dow Pharmaceuticals

By Asaf Rothem

The Marker, June 12, 2006

Allergica, a member of the Bio-Light Life Sciences Investment Group, has entered a frame agreement with Dow Pharmaceutical Sciences, regarding counseling and further development of the drug it is developing.

As its name might hint to the linguistically aware, Allergica is working on drugs and therapies to alleviate allergic conditions. Working with Dow, a global expert on treatments for skin conditions, is supposed to give Allergica the capacity to develop an ointment form of its drug.

The collaboration isn''t free for Allergica: it will cost it about $200,000.

Dr. Yaffa Beck, the chairman of Allergica said that the agreement is a significant milestone for the company. She added that skin allergies affect more than 50 million people around the world, of which 15 million are in the U.S. Most of the sufferers are children. At present their conditions are mostly controlled using anti-inflammatory medications such as steroids, which have undesirable side effects. Allergica''s approach is to attack the key factor in the underlying allergy - mast cells, she explained.

In May Allergica signed a similar development services agreement with the Lovelace Respiratory Institute of Albuquerque, regarding a treatment for asthma. The LRRI will also support preclinical animal and human clinical trials, the company said.

Shares in Bio-Light have shot up 126 percent from the start of 2006, lifting the company''s market capitalization to NIS 150 million, and that''s for a company devoid of revenues at this stage.