5 December 2019 - - Canada-based biopharmaceutical company Appili Therapeutics Inc. (TSX Venture: APLI) has entered into a commercialisation agreement with New York-based specialty pharmaceuticals company Saptalis Pharmaceuticals LLC on ATI-1501, Appili's liquid suspension reformulation of the antibiotic metronidazole, the company said.

Under the terms of the agreement, Appili is eligible to receive multiple milestone and royalty payments on the sale of ATI-1501 in the US.

In addition, Saptalis will be responsible for overseeing the regulatory review, manufacturing and preparation for the anticipated commercialization of ATI-1501 in the US.

ATI-1501 is a proprietary, novel, taste-masked oral liquid formulation of metronidazole a broad-spectrum and widely prescribed antibiotic used to treat parasitic and anaerobic bacterial infections.

Currently, oral metronidazole is only available as a solid tablet or capsule in the US and Canada; no liquid oral dose forms are approved.

The tablet's bitter taste is so pronounced that it appears as an adverse event on the drug's label.

An increasing number of patients with dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) are unable to take the tablet and require it to be crushed into food.

This process amplifies the pronounced bitter taste, which can negatively impact patients' adherence to their prescription.

Appili began developing ATI-1501 to solve a significant and growing issue for patients who cannot tolerate the current tablet formulation of metronidazole.

Appili's market research shows a potential for more than 600,000 patients in the US who could benefit from the programme, with additional potential upside beyond this core target market.

The company granted 1.995m stock options under Appili' Stock Option Plan to the company's employees, officers, directors and investor relations consultant.

The stock options will be exercisable at the closing price of the Appili common shares on Wednesday, December 4, 2020, and will have a term of ten years and will vest over a period of three years (over one year for the investor relations consultant).

Appili Therapeutics Inc. was founded to advance the global fight against infectious disease by matching clearly defined patient needs with drug development programs that provide solutions to existing challenges patients, doctors, and society face in this challenging disease space.

Appili has built a pipeline of assets designed to address a broad range of significant unmet medical needs in the infectious disease landscape. This diverse pipeline aims to address some of the most urgent threats in global public health.

Appili acquired ATI-2307, a novel, broad spectrum, clinical stage antifungal, in development to address severe and difficult-to-treat invasive fungal infections.

Via an in-licensing program, Appili acquired the rights to ATI-1701, a vaccine for tularemia, being developed to mitigate the risks of a very serious biological weapons threat. ATI-1503 is a drug discovery program aimed at generating negamycin analogue candidates, which are a novel class of antibiotics with broad-spectrum activity against Gram-negative superbugs.

ATI-1501 employs Appili's proprietary, taste-masked, oral-suspension technology with metronidazole for the growing number of patients with difficulty swallowing. Headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with offices in Toronto, Ontario, Appili is pursuing worldwide opportunities in collaboration with science and industry commercial partners, governments and government agencies.

Saptalis Pharmaceuticals, LLC is a rapidly growing pharmaceutical company specialized in development, manufacturing and marketing of generic and branded products in liquid and semi-solid dosage forms.

The company is focused on development of complex formulations of sterile and non sterile medicines, including nanosuspensions and microemulsions.

Saptalis' goal is to build value through commercialization of selected branded and generic prescription products.

In addition to the diverse pipeline of generic products, the company is developing innovative products, such as improved formulations of existing medicines to address unmet patient needs.

Located in the Hauppauge Industrial Park on Long Island, NY, USA, Saptalis has fully equipped Research and Development Laboratories and state of the art commercial scale manufacturing facility designed to meet FDA cGMP requirements.