Immdal, a privately held Irish pharmaceutical healthcare group, has sold its subsidiary Newport Pharmaceuticals to Swiss pharmaceutical company Ewopharma.

Newport manufactures and supplies immunomodulating drug inosine acedoben dimepranol (IAD), which is indicated for the treatment of a range of viral infections in many countries around the world.

Immdal’s subsidiary, KoRa Healthcare, has licensed from Newport the marketing and distribution rights to IAD in finished product form for the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Germany, Canada and other overseas markets. The addition of IAD to its product portfolio is expected to result in an increase in KoRa's annual revenue by 50% and creates a number of employment opportunities which are expected to be filled over the coming months. Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Immdal has also established a new subsidiary, Immcell, which will be focused on the innovation and development of novel therapies for the treatment of clinical conditions that involve the modulation of the human immune system. Immdal has successfully secured grant support from Enterprise Ireland for Immcell's current development activities.

Mr. James O'Daly, managing director of Immdal, commented "These events, including the sale of Newport, reflect a new and exciting strategic direction for the group which will bring a greater focus on innovative drug development and an expansion of our sales, marketing and distribution activities across our core therapeutic areas and markets."