Tularik Provides Mid-Year Update at the 23rd Annual Goldman Sachs Healthcare Conference
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--June 11, 2002--Tularik Inc. (Nasdaq:TLRK - News):
* Focuses clinical development efforts
* Updates clinical development progress
* Signs new collaboration agreement
Tularik Inc. (Nasdaq:TLRK - News) today provided a mid-year update at the 23rd Annual Goldman Sachs Healthcare Conference. Tularik's Chief Executive Officer, David V. Goeddel, Ph.D. discussed the Company's decision to focus its clinical efforts to better allocate resources, progress on several of its clinical programs and a new collaboration with Sankyo Company, Ltd.
Focused Clinical Development Efforts
In order to prioritize clinical development resources on drug candidates that represent the most attractive commercial opportunities, the Company has decided to discontinue work on T611, its anti-cytomegalovirus drug candidate. Studies conducted by the Company showed that reformulation and associated additional expenditures would be required to advance the clinical development of T611. In addition, Tularik has decided not to invest additional resources in the clinical development of T64, its anti-cancer drug candidate in-licensed from Eli Lilly and Company, following the end of the second quarter. The Company continues to consider partnership opportunities for T64.
"We have made significant progress in the last six months in achieving the goals we set for ourselves at the beginning of the year," said David V. Goeddel, Tularik's Chief Executive Officer. "The termination of T611 clinical development is consistent with our strategy of only investing in programs that continue to show a high probability of success and that target large commercial opportunities within our areas of scientific focus. The same principles apply to the decision to discontinue the clinical development of T64. While T64 showed activity against non-small cell lung cancer, this indication is quite competitive commercially. Our rich pipeline affords us the luxury of selecting the most attractive opportunities upon which to focus."
Clinical Development Progress
At the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in May, Tularik released results from a Phase 2 study of T67, its lead anti-cancer drug, in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. The Company has requested an end of Phase 2 meeting with the FDA in the third quarter of 2002 to discuss Phase 3 plans. In addition, a Phase 1/2 combination study with T67 plus doxorubicin has been initiated to investigate the benefit of these two drugs together.
The Company expects to begin Phase 2 trials with T607, its second-generation anti-cancer drug candidate, by the end of this month. T607 will be tested at multiple centers in patients suffering from hepatocellular carcinoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, gastric cancer and ovarian cancer.
Collaboration with Sankyo Company, Ltd.
Tularik announced that it has entered into a collaboration with Sankyo to jointly discover and develop human therapeutics that act on orphan G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Under the agreement, Tularik will receive a cash payment in recognition of its contribution of five GPCR targets. Sankyo has the option to select one or more of these five targets for further development at the end of the first year of the collaboration. Once target(s) have been selected, Sankyo will support Tularik research and pre-clinical development activities relating to compounds with activity against these target(s) for up to four years. The parties will share equally all clinical development costs and profits in the U.S. and Europe. Tularik is entitled to milestone and royalty payments as these compounds progress through clinical trials to registration outside of the U.S. and Europe. Other financial terms were not disclosed. |
