Bernie, Since Tuck keeps coming up with "estrogen" in the drug description, I came up with a small territorial license. However, your point is a good one. Plan "B" might be to market Evista as an "off label" product for Breast Cancer. Such a market would initially be small, but I'm not exactly sure of the "off label" promotion requirements. LGND will be targeting cancer, and most of their alliances have a license back for cancer provision. In the other alliances, this applies to future compounds (a TZD identified under the GLX atherosclerosis alliance could be licensed by LGND to treat cancer), but maybe this one is for an approved compound.
I'm not sure how involved LLY is in oncology, so they might be interested in licensing out Evista for cancer applications. I'm not sure if there is any clinical data to support an off label promotion. I know that the LLY/LGND research program will target combination breast cancer therapy using a SERM and Rexinoid.
In fact Michael Sporn has already published an rat breast cancer chemoprevention study using Evista (Raloxifene) combined with Panretin (9-cis retinoic acid):
J Natl Cancer Inst 1996 Jan 17;88(2):123-125
Chemoprevention of mammary carcinogenesis in the rat: combined use of
raloxifene and 9-cis-retinoic acid.
Anzano MA, Peer CW, Smith JM, Mullen LT, Shrader MW, Logsdon DL, Driver CL, Brown CC, Roberts AB, Sporn MB
Laboratory of Chemoprevention, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
PMID: 8537973, UI: 96133632 |
