BIOCORP and Aguettant Enter into a Partnership to Improve the Medical Care of Patients with Parkinson’s Disease

Regulatory News:

BIOCORP (Paris:ALCOR) (FR0012788065 – ALCOR / PEA-PME eligible), a French company specializing in the development and manufacturing of innovative medical and drug delivery devices, announces today the launch of APOKONNECT in partnership with Aguettant, laboratory specialized in the development, manufacturing and commercialization of essential medicines for hospitals. The APOKONNECT project selected by the Regional Health Agency (ARS), the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region and Bpifrance, will combine the expertise of BIOCORP and Aguettant to improve the medical care and follow-up of patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease.

The Parkinson’s disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disease with very disabling motor symptoms, which affects around 200,000 people in France (25,000 new cases diagnosed each year¹). Its therapeutic care is complex and requires high intensity care, especially in the case of motor fluctuations² and demands a regular patient monitoring. The innovative APOKONNECT project will rely both on APOKINON®, an apomorphine self-injection pen developed by Aguettant, and on Easylog, the connected device developed by Biocorp. By connecting patients to healthcare professionals involved in the treatment, it will enable improvements of the patient’s medical care and ease the follow-up of the ambulatory treatment by apomorphine.

By gathering data related to patients’ treatment and symptoms on a tablet computer or smartphone via a secured app, this innovative treatment will not only help improve the treatment compliance and patients’ life, but will also increase their autonomy and lead to the development of "homecare” while staying connected to healthcare professional in real-time.

The study, carried out within the framework of the APOKONENCT project, will run for 19 months and include the system integration, different studies to assess the daily use and the preparation of the deployment. The tests, firstly undertaken at a regional level, will then be deployed on a larger scale. Financed by the Regional intervention fund of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, the Innovation Fund of Rhône-Alpes, namely the Social Innovation Funds, and Bpifrance’s financial apparatus, the project will widely contribute to the industrial and economic development of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and will help create employment. All the stakeholders of the project as well as their R&D and industrial activities are based in this region.

"Biocorp’s developments, namely in the e-health field, have always been driven by one major stake: improve the healthcare of patients suffering from chronic diseases. We wish to bring efficient and durable systems dedicated to the improvement of patients’ daily life and which contribute to the enhancement of the healthcare and medical support. The Parkinson’s disease, which is a new therapeutic indication covered by Biocorp, opens new business perspectives and confirms our strategic development. We are pleased to collaborate with Aguettant and all the partners involved in this promising project”, commented Jacques Gardette, Biocorps’ CEO and Co-founder.

"Aguettant has been a key player in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease for many years. Our leading product APOKINON® and collaboration with French neurologists have driven improvements in the healthcare of this pathology. The APOKONNECT project fits into this framework and will combine Aguettant’ and Biocorp’s potential for innovation, the expertise of our academic teams involved in the medical progress and the globalization of our therapeutic offer”, declared Eric Rougemond, Aguettant Laboratory’s CEO.

For more information on the «Health innovation for Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes” project, please visit: http://www.ars.auvergne-rhone-alpes.sante.fr/Projets-innovants-en-sante.174787.0.html (French only)

ABOUT BIOCORP
Founded in 2004 in Issoire (near Clermont-Ferrand), France, Biocorp is a French company specializing in the development and manufacturing of medical devices and innovative drug delivery systems. It is listed as ‘Innovative Company’ by the French public investment bank Bpifrance. With over twenty years of experience and more than 30 manufactured products, Biocorp is a key player in the industry, providing drug delivery solutions that meet the evolving needs of patients. Today, Biocorp continues to innovate in the area of medical plastics, its core business, and to market traditional devices (alternative to aluminum capsules, syringe and vial administration systems) that have been an important source of recurring income. Its solid expertise and capacity to innovate have allowed the company to develop new Internet-connected products, including: the DataPen, a reusable smart injection pen that automatically transmits data to a mobile app, helping patients to manage their treatment; and treatment management add-ons, which adapt to existing delivery devices and are compatible with most injection pens in the market. The company has a team of 44 employees.
Biocorp is listed on Alternext since July 2015 (FR0012788065 – ALCOR).
For more information, please visit: www.biocorp.fr
Follow us on Twitter @BIOCORPSystems

ABOUT EASYLOG, a smart sensor for drug delivery devices
Easylog is a smart sensor that converts all insulin delivery devices, reusable as well as disposable, into internetconnected and communicating devices. Connected to a secured mobile application, Easylog collect data automaticcaly related to injections, provides users with reminders for drug delivery, alerts in case of double injection, and real-time access to patients’ historical data and personalized logbook. Easylog is an innovative compliance solution for the treatment of patients suffering from chronic diseases and help improve compliance rates. As a connected healthcare solution, Easylog provides in real-time reliable information to healthcare professionals.

ABOUT AGUETTANT
Aguettant is an independent French pharmaceutical company specialized in the development, manufacturing and marketing of essential medicines for hospitals. Specialized in the development of innovative injectable medications, Aguettant is a key player in intensive care, anesthesia, parenteral nutrition and neurology. The company has a strong commercial structure in Europe through its subsidiaries, but also worldwide via its global distributor network.
For more information, please visit: www.aguettant.fr

¹ Press release of the organization France Parkinson – April 2016
² Motor flucutations are stages during which the disease temporary reappears. It can be a slowness in movement, namely a reduction of the spontaneity, rapidity or efficiency of the movements, a walking slowdown, or the appearance of a shaking. The intensity of the symptoms is very variable, and can even lead to the blocking of any movement.

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