Unilife and Stason Pharmaceuticals Sign Asian Distribution Agreement for the Unitract(TM) 1mL Safety Syringe

LEWISBERRY, Pa., March 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Unilife Corporation ("Unilife" or "Company") (Nasdaq: UNIS; ASX: UNS) today announced that it has signed an exclusive five-year agreement with Stason Pharmaceuticals Inc ("Stason"), a U.S.-based pharmaceutical company, to market the Unitract™ 1mL safety syringe ("Product") in Japan, China and Taiwan ("designated territories"). Stason's Taiwan-based strategic alliance affiliate, Standard Chem. and Pharm. Co., LTD ("Standard"), will act as the primary distributor of the product within these designated territories.

This agreement includes a requirement for Stason to purchase a minimum of one million units of the Unitract™ 1mL syringe per year during the term of the contract (subject to annual review). Stason is placing an immediate annual order with Unilife for the purchase of one million units of the Unitract™ 1mL syringe. Other countries within South-East Asia may be added to the list of designated territories where Stason has exclusive rights to sell the Product if the parties reach agreement on minimum orders for those countries.

Stason CEO Harry Fan stated: "We believe strongly in the market for the Unitract™ safety syringe and its potential to help decrease needlestick injuries around the world.  We are excited to be one of the first distributors of this revolutionary device and to have the opportunity to exclusively distribute the Unitract™ syringe to our customers in Asia. In particular, we believe there are significant opportunities for pharmaceutical companies to gain a competitive market advantage by supplying their injectable drugs in kits containing the drug vial and units of the Unitract™ 1mL Syringe."

Stason Vice President, Corporate Development Diana Wood, added: "This strategic alliance with Unilife also represents our joint vision where drugs and devices come together to deliver medications more comfortably to patients and more safely for hospital staff."

Unilife CEO Alan Shortall stated: "With manufacturing of our Unitract™ 1mL syringes underway at our FDA-certified facility in Pennsylvania, we are excited to move forward with this initial distribution agreement and initial order for one million Unitract™ safety syringes with Stason Pharmaceuticals and Standard Chem. and Pharma.  We believe there is a significant market opportunity for our safety syringes throughout the Asia-Pacific region, especially within fast-growing nations where there is both an appreciation for innovative US-manufactured technology and a desire to use premium safety medical devices which can minimize the transmission of blood-borne pathogens such as HIV and hepatitis C within healthcare facilities.

"We look forward to working closely with Stason and Standard to develop these markets and secure sustained rates of growth for the sale of our products across Asia. We are also continuing to negotiate with other pharmaceutical and healthcare companies across the world for distribution rights for the Unitract™ 1mL syringes. We expect that additional agreements will be signed in conjunction with the continued global rollout of the Unitract™ 1mL syringes," Mr. Shortall said.

The Unitract™ range of 1mL syringes is the world's first and only known syringe that allows operators to control the speed of automatic needle retraction directly from the patient's body into the barrel of the syringe where it is locked in place. The products are well positioned to help prevent the transmission of blood-borne diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C via aerosol dispersal, needlestick injuries and syringe reuse. Primary target markets of the products include healthcare facilities, pharmaceutical companies and patients who self-administer prescription medication.

Also, while Unilife continues to have a relationship with Shanghai Kindly Enterprise Development Group Company Ltd ("KDL") for the assembly of its Unitract™ 1mL syringes within China on a per order basis, other agreements between Unilife and KDL relating to the distribution of the product within China and other agreed territories have expired. Stason has advised the Company of a preference to receive units of the Unitract™ 1mL syringe that are assembled at Unilife's FDA-registered facilities in the U.S. State of Pennsylvania.

About Unilife Corporation

Unilife Corporation is a U.S.-based medical device company focused on the design, development, manufacture and supply of a proprietary range of retractable syringes. Primary target customers for Unilife products include pharmaceutical manufacturers, suppliers of medical equipment to healthcare facilities and patients who self-administer prescription medication. These patent-protected syringes incorporate automatic and fully-integrated safety features which are designed to protect those at risk of needlestick injuries and unsafe injection practices. Unilife is ISO 13485 certified and has FDA-registered medical device manufacturing facilities in Pennsylvania.

About Stason Pharmaceuticals Inc

Stason Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a California-based pharmaceutical company involved in drug development, manufacturing, importation exportation and the licensing and marketing of both generic and branded products. The company's primary area of development is oncology, as well supportive products for the treatment of side effects related to cancer therapy. Additional therapeutic areas include cardiovascular, central nervous system, autoimmune and endocrine disorders. Stason's most important strategic alliance affiliation in Asia is with Standard Chem. And Pharm. Co., LTD. Standard was established in Taiwan in 1967 and has a number of subsidiaries active across North America and Asia which are focused on ethical and OTC drugs, APIs, medical devices and health food supplements.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements that address operating performance, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to our management. Our management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made. However, you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements because such statements speak only as of the date when made. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. In addition, forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, events and developments to differ materially from our historical experience and our present expectations or projections. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those described in "Item 1A. Risk Factors" and elsewhere in our registration statement on Form 10 and those described from time to time in other reports which we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

General: UNIS-G

SOURCE Unilife Corporation