Certainly a success for Antisoma -
Roche to acquire rights to promising portfolio of cancer drugs from Antisoma
- Antisoma (LSE: ASM.L - news) and Roche to establish innovative oncology alliance
Basel and London - Roche and Antisoma plc announced today that they will form a broad strategic alliance which grants Roche exclusive worldwide rights to the Antisoma pipeline of oncology products. This alliance will use the established development, manufacturing and commercial capabilities of Roche to facilitate the rapid commercialisation of Antisoma's promising oncology drugs.
Agents covered by the agreement include Pemtumomab, which is already in phase III development for ovarian cancer and could be the subject of product license applications as early as 2004. Also included are three other oncology compounds, Therex, TheraFab and DMXAA that are currently in phase I clinical trials. Roche will also have rights to opt in to pre-clinical programs that advance into clinical trials during a 5-year period.
About the deal terms
In exchange for a minority equity stake and cash payments, Roche will have rights to the oncology products currently in clinical development at Antisoma as well as those developed to the stage of human use over the next five years. Under the terms of the agreement, Antisoma will be responsible for advancing new oncology compounds into clinical development. Roche will gain the right, for five years, to opt in to any program upon entry to human clinical trials and then to co-develop and commercialise products on a worldwide basis. Roche will initially pay 4.15 million GBP to acquire new Antisoma shares equivalent to just under 10% of the current share capital and make a cash payment to gain access to the existing Antisoma portfolio. Roche will also provide Antisoma with further access, development and milestone and commercial payments based on compounds successfully reaching critical stages. Key milestones will be entry into phase III trials and marketing approvals. Payments to Antisoma could exceed 500 million USD if all existing pipeline products were successfully launched. In addition, Antisoma will receive royalties on product sales. Roche will cover in full the remaining development costs of Pemtumomab and Therex.
Roche has agreed to maintain its equity stake in Antisoma until at least the earliest of the following: the approval for marketing of Pemtumomab, the termination of the agreement, or the elapse of 3 years from completion.
"We feel very fortunate to have identified such an attractive biotech partner as Antisoma in an area of strategic importance to Roche. Considering its size and resources, Antisoma has demonstrated an ability to create a significant portfolio of promising product candidates. The partnership will ensure that we deploy the necessary resources and expertise to fully develop this pipeline and create yet another source of products for our growing oncology franchise", said William M. Burns, Head of Roche's Pharmaceuticals Division.
Glyn Edwards, Chief Executive of Antisoma, said: "This is a ground-breaking agreement for the European biotechnology industry. The commitment by Roche underlines the quality and depth of our portfolio of oncology products and will enable us to bring them to market in the broadest range of indications and the fastest possible time. It will also significantly increase our cash reserves and reduce our cash burn, placing us in a strong position to acquire new products."
About the Antisoma portfolio
* Pemtumomab is currently in phase III clinical development for ovarian cancer and phase II for gastric cancer. It is an Yttrium-90 labelled mouse monoclonal antibody (MAB) designed for administration into the peritoneal cavity and directed against MUC-1, a form of mucin found on various cancer cells.
* Therex is a humanised monoclonal antibody currently in phase I clinical testing. Due to the fact that its target, MUC-1, is over-expressed in a wide variety of major tumour types, Therex will be assessed in multiple indications and could have blockbuster potential.
* TheraFab is currently in phase I clinical testing for Non-Small Cell Lung cancer. TheraFab is the Fab2 fragment of Pemtumomab linked to Yttrium-90. It is used in combination with external beam radiotherapy with the objective of delivering an increased radiation dose to the site of the tumour.
* DMXAA is a small molecule vascular targeting agent that selectively disrupts blood flow through tumour blood vessels. It is currently in phase I clinical trials.
* Several pre-clinical and research programs covering a range of innovative targets and approaches could also enter into clinical testing during the course of the alliance.
Roche in Oncology
Roche is a world leader in oncology. Its franchise includes three drugs with proven survival benefit: MabThera (Ritixumab), Xeloda (capecitabine), and Herceptin (Trastuzumab). It also includes NeoRecormon (epoetin beta), Roferon-A (interferon alfa-2a), Neupogen (Filgrastim) and Kytril (granisetron HCl). The Roche Group's oncology program is supported by four Research sites (two in the U.S., Germany and Japan) and five Development sites (two in the U.S., UK, Switzerland and Japan).
About Roche
Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world's leading research-orientated healthcare groups. The company's two core businesses in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics provide innovative products and services, that address prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, thus enhancing people's health and quality of life. The two core businesses achieved a turnover of 19.3 billion Swiss Francs in the first three quarters of 2002 and employed about 57,000 employees worldwide.
About Antisoma
Based in London, UK, Antisoma is a biopharmaceutical company that develops novel products for the treatment of cancer. The Company fills its development pipeline by acquiring promising new product candidates from internationally recognised academic or cancer research institutions. Its core activity is the pre-clinical and clinical development of these drug candidates. Antisoma forms partnerships with pharmaceutical companies to bring its products to market. Visit antisoma.com for further information about Antisoma.
Conditions
The transaction may be subject to review by the Federal Trade Commission under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976. The collaboration on Pemtumomab is also subject to the termination of Antisoma's prior agreement with Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT - news) . Antisoma has exercised its right to end this agreement and today issued a notice of termination to Abbott.
Either party may terminate the collaboration in whole or in part if the above conditions have not been satisfied by April 30, 2003. ... |
