update Reuters Auj. à 15:45
* NicOx on track with naproxcinod U.S., EU filing plans
* Naproxcinod likely to be partnered with multiple companies
* Share rises 4.18 percent after interview
(Adds CEO comments, background)
By Caroline Jacobs and Noelle Mennella
PARIS, June 3 (Reuters) - NicOx expects to sign several partnership agreements for its candidate drug naproxcinod, which it still plans to submit for U.S. marketing approval this summer and EU approval this autumn.
"If we find a partner that is as good in Europe as in the United States, we will do a deal with them," Chief Executive Michele Garufi told Reuters on Wednesday.
"I think it will be easier to have several partners. It is likely that we will have two or even three partners, for Europe, the U.S. and Japan," he added.
Garufi said he expected to strike such deals this year or next. He declined to comment on which of the world's many drug firms would be good candidates for NicOx.
But the drug, a possible competitor to Pfizer's blockbuster Celebrex, still needs to be submitted for marketing approval in the United States and Europe.
"We don't need a partner for filing (for marketing approval), we can file on our own in the United States and in Europe," Garufi said. "We will first submit it and the rest follows automatically."
NicOx's plans to become a pharmaceutical company by buying products complementary to its portfolio from other companies partly hinges on its ability to strike a marketing deal in the United States, the world's biggest drug market.
A deal would entail NicOx keeping the rights to market the product to specialists while its partner, with a big sales force, would sell it to general practitioners.
PLENTY OF CASH UNTIL END 2010
At the end of March, NicOx had 84.6 million euros in cash, which Garufi said was enough to run its business until the end of 2010.
NicOx uses its nitric oxide-donating technology to develop drugs against inflammatory and cardio-metabolic diseases and significantly strengthened its patent portfolio when it bought patents from Nitromed .
Garufi declined to say what NicOx's plans were for the new patents or what diseases they could be used for.
"It's a defensive strategy and it is also meant for future projects," Garufi said.
Nitric oxide acts as a messenger molecule in the body but certain diseases are linked to a lack of nitric oxide production. NicOx's technology involves grafting a nitric oxide-donating chemical group onto an existing drug molecule, forming a new chemical entity that can be patented.
It recently began the clinical development of cardiovascular compound NCX 6560, which will be compared with a placebo and Pfizer's cholestorol drug Lipitor, the world's top selling drug. Results are due in the third quarter, Garufi said.
NicOx shares rose 4.18 percent to 9.48 euros on Wednesday, giving the company a stock market value of around 450 million euros. The stock has increased 18.2 percent this year