Pfizer contracts with Antares to build a rescue auto-injector for an unnamed drug

Pfizer has tapped Antares Pharma for the development of a self-administered combination drug-device rescue pen for an undisclosed medicine, shortly after investing $465 million in a new sterile injectables plant.

Pfizer will pay for the product’s development and lead the push for FDA approval, while Antares will provide its QuickShot auto-injector.

Under a separate supply deal, Antares will deliver the finished, fully packaged product to Pfizer at cost, plus margin, while the Big Pharma will then be responsible for its commercialization. While full financial details are not available, Antares will receive royalties on net sales.

"We look forward to working closely with Pfizer throughout the development phase of this combination product and assisting them with the FDA drug device approval process," Antares President and CEO Robert Apple said in a statement (PDF). The Ewing, New Jersey-based company’s stock was up more than 8% in premarket trading.

Pfizer’s massive, 400,000-square-foot addition planned for its Portage, Michigan, manufacturing plant is expected to add 450 new jobs when its fully operational in 2024.

The site is already one of the company’s primary facilities for sterile injectable, liquid and semisolid medicines—as well as for active pharmaceutical ingredients—and currently manufactures more than 150 products.

Pfizer previously contracted with Antares in a similar delivery device deal through its consumer health arm in 2011, with its targets and financial details undisclosed as well.

"This development agreement between Antares and Pfizer further expands our portfolio of pipeline-partnered products," including the number of products using the company’s QuickShot auto-injector platform, Apple said.

Antares also maintains collaborations with Actavis, Meda, AMAG Pharmaceuticals and Teva. Antares’ other proprietary products include Otrexup (methotrexate) subcutaneous injection and the investigational testosterone replacement therapy Xyosted, currently under FDA review with decision expected by the end of September.

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