Great news for Enzon!
Enzon Announces PEG-INTRON A Advances To
Phase III Clinical Trials
PISCATAWAY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 4, 1997--Enzon, Inc.
(NASDAQ:ENZN) announced today that Schering-Plough Corporation (NYSE:SGP) has advanced PEG-INTRON A, long-acting dose formulation, to Phase III clinical trials for hepatitis C in the United States and Europe.
Enzon and Schering-Plough entered into a licensing agreement for PEG-INTRON A which entitles Enzon to $5.5 million additional milestone payments, of which $2.5 million will now be payable. Under the agreement, Enzon has the option to become Schering-Plough's exclusive
manufacturer of PEG-INTRON A for the U.S. market and is also entitled to royalties on product sales.
PEG-INTRON A is a modified form of Schering-Plough's INTRON A (interferon alfa-2b, recombinant), developed by Enzon to have longer-acting properties. In this Phase III program, PEG-INTRON A administered once a week, will be compared to INTRON A at
the licensed regimen, which is currently three times a week. Enzon currently has two FDA approved products on the market that utilize this PEG Modification technology.
INTRON A is a genetically engineered anticancer and antiviral agent, developed and marketed worldwide by Schering-Plough. INTRON A generated $524 million in sales in 1996. The worldwide market for alpha interferon is in excess of $1 billion.
``Enzon is pleased with the commitment that Schering-Plough has made to the development of PEG-INTRON A,'' stated Peter G. Tombros, Enzon's president and chief executive officer. ``We are confident that Enzon's PEG Modification enhancements, coupled with Schering-Plough's clinical development capabilities and marketing expertise, will maximize its
market potential.''
Enzon is a biopharmaceutical company developing advanced therapeutics for life-threatening diseases through the application of its proprietary drug delivery and targeting technologies, PEG Modification and SCA proteins. Enzon's research activities, primarily in the area of oncology, are focused on applying its technologies to enhance the performance of compounds with known therapeutic efficacy. Enzon has formed strategic alliances with several global pharmaceutical companies including Baxter Healthcare Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Eli Lilly & Co. and Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Enzon is headquartered in Piscataway, NJ. |
