According to a press release by the Company, COLAL is a drug delivery technology which enables drugs to be taken orally and then be specifically released when the preparation reaches the colon.

The technology is currently being exploited in the development of COLAL-PRED, Alizyme's novel product for the treatment of ulcerative colitis, which recently received approval for a pivotal Phase III clinical trial in Europe.

The patents are currently granted in the major commercial territories, including the USA and Europe and were previously licensed from BTG under an exclusive worldwide license.

This new agreement, assigning these worldwide rights, will allow Alizyme to maximize the future commercial return from exploiting this unique technology with its current product COLAL-PRED and with other potential products in the future.

In respect of those patents that relate to the COLAL drug delivery technology that cover Alizyme's COLAL-PRED product, the terms of the deal provide that Alizyme pays £750,000 on signature of the agreement and a further £550,000 on recording the assignments at the appropriate patent offices. Alizyme will take outright ownership of these patents, with no further amounts being payable.

In respect of the other assigned patent families, which relate to other aspects of colonic drug delivery technology, Alizyme will pay a total of £75,000 over the next three years, royalties on any sales of relevant products and a share of any other consideration received by Alizyme for exploitation of these patents. Alizyme will look to identify new potential product opportunities in conjunction with this drug delivery technology.