Elite Pharmaceuticals, a specialty pharmaceutical company developing abuse-deterrent opioids and niche generic products, has entered into a new development and license agreement with SunGen Pharma to collaborate, develop and commercialize generic pharmaceutical products based upon a unique drug delivery platform used for extended release products. The parties intend to begin with the development of five generic extended release products and to develop additional such products after that. More than a dozen products utilize this type of technology. This new co-development agreement will build upon the success of the first development agreement signed by Elite and SunGen in 2016.

Elite and SunGen will share the responsibilities and costs of the development and marketing of the products. Upon FDA approval, the products will be owned jointly by Elite and SunGen. Elite will manufacture and package all the products.

The product classes include CNS stimulants, anticonvulsives, antipsychotics and antihypertensives. For the twelve months ending March 31, 2017, the five products and their generic equivalents had total U.S. sales of more than $2.5 billion according to IMS Health Data.

“We have been very pleased with the progress and success to-date with our SunGen collaboration and are excited to extend the collaboration to these products,” said Nasrat Hakim, chairman and chief executive officer, Elite.

“Our strategic partnership with Elite is working exceedingly well, and we are pleased to broaden the range of products on which we are collaborating,” said Dr. Jim Huang, Co-CEO of SunGen.