By Jim McCamant, Editor
Medical Technology Stock Letter
Posted Wednesday, June 27, 2001 at 07:37 AM EST
Elan and CeNeS Pharmaceuticals plc announced that they will be forming a new company, which will operate as a CeNeS subsidiary and be 80%-owned by CeNeS, to develop pain control products. The products will utilize ELN's MediPad drug delivery system and CeNeS' M6G morphine metabolite. CeNeS will grant the venture an exclusive license to specific M6G rights, and ELN will grant exclusive rights to use MediPad with M6G in exchange for a $15 million license fee. The initial focus will be on a product for cancer pain. The company will have a two-year budget of $6 million, and it is hoped that they can get the product to at least the end of Phase II testing during that time. Under the terms of the venture, ELN will loan $18.5 million to CeNeS to help them fund their portion of the venture, and also invest £4.2 million in CeNeS once the deal in approved and another £1.4 million upon the achievement of an agreed upon clinical milestone.
ELN continues to extend their significant presence in the pain therapeutics arena. ELN also announced that they intend to form a joint venture with SafeScience, Inc. to further the development of SafeScience's lead product candidate, GBC-590, for cancer treatment. It is currently in Phase II testing for both pancreatic and colorectal cancers. Under the terms of the agreement, both companies will license specific technologies to the venture, and ELN will buy an undisclosed amount of SafeScience stock. It looks as though the venture will be committed to using ELN's technology to develop an oral version of the drug. Full details of the venture will be disclosed upon finalization, which is expected on or before June 30. ELN is a buy under $50. |
