Kosan Announces License of Motilin Agonist Program to Pfizer
Wednesday December 20, 6:00 am ET
Kosan Will Receive Upfront Payment of $12.5 Million; Eligible to Receive Additional Milestone Payments for Total Deal Value of up to $250 Million
HAYWARD, Calif., Dec. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Kosan Biosciences Incorporated (Nasdaq: KOSN - News) today announced the establishment of a worldwide license agreement with Pfizer Inc for Kosan's motilin agonist program. The agreement includes Kosan's clinical candidate, KOS-2187 and related compounds. KOS-2187 has demonstrated improved gastric emptying in preclinical studies and may have therapeutic benefit in gastrointestinal diseases such as gastro- esophageal reflux disease (GERD), or diabetic gastroparesis (delayed gastric emptying).
Under the terms of the license agreement, Kosan and Pfizer will collaborate on filing of regulatory documents and initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial of KOS-2187. Pfizer will be responsible for all development, regulatory and commercial activities related to the motilin agonist program. Kosan will receive an upfront payment of $12.5 million and will be eligible to receive up to $250 million for the successful development and commercialization of KOS-2187 for one indication, as well as royalties on worldwide sales. This total value of up to $250 million includes development milestone payments of up to $72.5 million.
Should Pfizer elect to develop KOS-2187 for a second indication or to develop other Kosan compounds within the licensed rights, additional development and commercial milestones may be payable to Kosan as well as royalties on worldwide sales of any licensed Kosan product.
"We have achieved a major corporate goal by partnering our gastrointestinal-focused motilin agonist program with Pfizer" said Robert G. Johnson, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Kosan. "Kosan today is focused on advancing novel cancer therapeutics, as evidenced by our advancing Hsp90 inhibitor and epothilone oncology programs which are progressing into later-stage clinical development. Our motilin agonist program is the most promising polyketide-based, non-oncology asset to emerge from our proprietary discovery platform. This agreement with Pfizer further underscores Kosan's ability to convert technology into valuable product opportunities."
"Pfizer believes that the mechanism of action of KOS-2187 and its demonstrated activity as a prokinetic agent are significant indications of its potential as a new approach for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases," said James Bristol, Senior Vice President, Pfizer World Wide Discovery Research. "We believe that KOS-2187 is a valuable addition to Pfizer's GI portfolio."
About Motilin Agonists
Motilin, a hormone that is secreted by the small intestine, stimulates gastrointestinal motility (movement). Erythromycin, a polyketide best known for its antibiotic activity, is an agonist of the motilin receptor that enhances esophageal motility in GERD patients and accelerates gastric emptying in patients with diabetic gastroparesis. Kosan has developed potent, non- antibiotic derivatives of erythromycin for the treatment of gastrointestinal motility disorders, and selected KOS-2187 as a clinical candidate. KOS-2187 is a potent, selective motilin receptor agonist that is chemically stable and orally bioavailable and lacks antibiotic activity. In preclinical studies, KOS-2187 showed an improved safety profile relative to erythromycin and accelerated gastric emptying, suggesting that it may provide symptom relief in several gastrointestinal diseases.
Kosan has prepared a clinical trial application (CTA) for filing with the European regulatory authorities to enable first-in-human studies of KOS-2187. Pfizer plans to file the Kosan CTA and initiate clinical trials in early 2007. |
