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Biotech / Medical : CLTR COULTER PHARMACEUTICAL -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bob L who wrote (545)	4/25/2000 9:29:00 AM
From: nigel bates	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 666

April 25, 2000--Coulter Pharmaceutical (Nasdaq:CLTR - news) and SmithKline Beecham (NYSE:SBH - news) today announced an amendment to their collaboration for Bexxar(TM) (tositumomab, iodine I 131 tositumomab), Coulter's lead investigational cancer product, to allow Coulter to reacquire rights to the therapy outside of the United States. The companies have also announced an expansion of the collaboration between the two companies through a co-promotion agreement that will temporarily use Coulter's sales force for the U.S. promotion of SmithKline Beecham's (SB) oncology products, Hycamtin© and Kytril©. Under the amended agreement, Coulter will reaquire rights outside of the U.S. for the development and commercialization of Bexxar. As part of the reacquisition which will be effective on June 30, 2000, the companies have modified their existing agreement for Bexxar. Coulter intends to directly market Bexxar in Europe upon approval to specialized centers and may seek partners as appropriate in specific countries. Coulter continues to retain all rights in Japan. ``SmithKline Beecham's reassessment of Bexxar outside of the U.S. has created an opportunity for us to reacquire these rights,'' said Michael F. Bigham, president and chief executive officer of Coulter. ``We believe that the concentrated nature of the European market for Bexxar(TM) represents an exciting opportunity for us to drive growth in the future with full profit ownership rather than a royalty participation. SmithKline Beecham continues to contribute significantly to the U.S. development and potential commercialization of Bexxar.'' Kevin Lokay, vice president and director of Oncology at SmithKline Beecham, said, ``We remain firmly committed to the commercialization of Bexxar in the U.S. We are excited about the commercial opportunity in this territory and believe Bexxar will help us reach our strategic goal of expanding our oncology franchise in the U.S.'' The collaboration in the U.S. has been expanded to include a co-promotion agreement wherein Coulter's sales organization will assist SB's oncology sales and marketing team with the promotion of Hycamtin and Kytril for a period of time prior to the commercial launch of Bexxar. Bexxar is a radioimmunotherapy being jointly developed by Coulter and SmithKline Beecham for the treatment of relapsed and refractory, low-grade and transformed low-grade B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Bexxar is not yet approved. The co-promotion provides an opportunity for the two sales forces to work closely together prior to the launch of Bexxar. SB will compensate Coulter for the time and efforts of its sales force in the promotion of Hycamtin and Kytril. Michael F. Bigham said, ``We are pleased to enter into this co-promotion agreement. By enabling enhanced cooperation between the Coulter and SB Oncology sales teams, we gain substantial experience working together in advance of anticipated marketing approval of Bexxar.''