Since we first initiated coverage on Unilife (UNIS-NASDAQ) in 2009, we have seen the company grow and accomplish a number of impressive milestones. Unilife has transitioned from a development-stage Australian medical device company to a sizable, commercial-stage, NASDAQ-listed U.S. company.
Over the past three years, we have kept investors updated as Unilife raised over $140 million in various financings and government support; constructed and relocated from Sydney to a 165,000-sq. ft., state-of-the art manufacturing facility and global headquarters in York, Pennsylvania; and began commercializing a portfolio of patented syringe products worldwide.
This week, the company continued its expansion, targeting mobile audiences with an investor relations app now available for free at the App Store™ on the iPhone®. The app offers Unilife's latest press releases and SEC filings as well as background information, videos, and presentations from the company.
Building an Advanced Drug Delivery Company
When we first got acquainted with Unilife's story back in 2009, the company had just secured a valuable industrialization agreement with Sanofi SA (SNY-NYSE), under which it began developing a new type of prefilled syringe that could meet the global medical community's need for safer drug delivery products. Today, the Unifill® Syringe is mass produced at the company's York, PA, facility and sold to pharma customers globally, including Sanofi. Drug manufacturers fill the safety syringe with medicine before shipping it to physicians, hospitals, and pharmacies.
In addition to commercialization of the Unifill® Syringe, Unilife has developed, received FDA clearances for, and commenced global sales of its Unitract® range of 1mL syringes (for medicines such as insulin), which are now also produced in the U.S. Importantly, the company's pipeline of advanced drug delivery products today includes an array of new initiatives to keep the momentum going, including Unifill® EZMix multiple-chamber prefilled syringes, Unifill® auto-injectors for self-administration by patients outside of healthcare facilities, and an AutoInfusor™ line of subcutaneous infusion systems.
Recent Press
We are not the only people who are excited about Unilife's prospects. The company's CEO, Alan Shortall, was recently interviewed for and appeared on the cover of the March edition of Drug Development and Delivery. The complete article is available here.
As well, on Monday, March 12, Mr. Shortall appeared on Bloomberg's TV show InBusiness with Margaret Brennan, where he discussed Unilife's plans for growth, which includes continued hiring of 120 people over the next 12-18 months.
If video does not play, click here for a direct link to the video on Bloomberg.