Piedmont, Hisun sign agreement to develop animal pharmaceuticals

NEW YORK — Piedmont Pharmaceuticals and Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceuticals have signed a joint agreement to develop companion animal health pharmaceuticals for China and other markets worldwide.

Piedmont Pharmaceuticals is a privately held pharmaceutical development, licensing and marketing company headquartered in Greensboro, N.C. Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceuticals, a leading Chinese pharmaceutical company, is headquartered in Zhejiang, China.

"New products are the lifeblood of every pharmaceutical company," says Roland Johnson, chairman and CEO of Piedmont Pharmaceuticals. "Hisun is a globally recognized pharmaceutical provider that demonstrates excellence in every facet of their business operations. This partnership will allow the team at Piedmont to develop and bring even more innovative animal health products to strategic business partners and pet owners worldwide."

Current estimates place China's pet population at 200 million, with that number expected to reach 500 million by 2015. China is the world's second-largest economy behind the United States, and in the last 30 years, economic growth in China has averaged 8 percent gross domestic product (GDP) annually. Many analysts predict that China will become the largest economy in the world this century.

Formed by a group of industry veterans, Piedmont Pharmaceuticals develops and achieves regulatory approval for its innovative animal health and human products, then licenses them to strong commercial partners. Piedmont has licensed a number of its novel animal health products to U.S.-based Pfizer, U.K.-based Dechra Pharmaceuticals and Germany-based Bayer Animal Health.

Hisun supplies active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to some of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, Merck, Novartis, Eli Lilly and Alpharma. In February 2011, Hisun entered into a joint venture framework agreement with Pfizer, the world's largest pharmaceutical company, to develop products for human health.

Piedmont and Hisun will combine their strengths in research, development, regulatory, manufacturing and distribution, the companies report.