Sugen Announcement of Alliance with TAIHO
SUGEN and Taiho Create Strategic Cancer Alliance to Develop Angiogenesis
Inhibitors
Business Wire - July 30, 1998 07:16
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--July 30, 1998--SUGEN, Inc. (NASDAQ:SUGN) and Taiho Pharmaceutical Ltd. announced today that
they have entered into an agreement for the development and commercialization of SUGEN's angiogenesis inhibitors for the prevention and treatment of
cancer.
According to the terms of the agreement, Taiho will participate in the funding of pre-clinical and clinical development of the SUGEN angiogenesis
inhibitors. Taiho will receive marketing rights in Japan, while SUGEN will retain, through its affiliates, marketing rights for the rest of the world. As
part of the collaboration, SUGEN will directly or through its affiliates, receive upfront payments, milestones and research and clinical development
funding potentially exceeding $70 million. SUGEN has also retained rights through an affiliate to manufacture and supply products to Taiho for sale in
Japan. Additional details of the agreement were not disclosed.
"We are delighted to enter into an agreement with the leading cancer company in Japan," commented Stephen Evans-Freke, Chairman and CEO of
SUGEN. "Taiho has long been a leader in the discovery and development of anticancer compounds, some of which have been licensed to the leading
global pharmaceutical companies in oncology. By partnering with Taiho in the development of the angiogenesis program, SUGEN has secured a world
class partner that complements the Company's strengths and expertise in the field of cancer."
Dr. Y. Kobayashi, President, Taiho Pharmaceutical Company, said, "Our company has reviewed numerous therapeutic approaches in development for
preventing tumor angiogenesis. We believe SUGEN has a leadership position in this field and we are pleased to partner with them in the further
development of these novel angiogenesis inhibitors. This partnership represents the beginning of what we hope will become a broad strategic
relationship that will complement Taiho's product pipeline and help us maintain our number one position in oncology in Japan."
SUGEN currently is in Phase I and I/II testing in the U.S. and Europe for SU5416, the most advanced of the SUGEN angiogenesis inhibitors in
development. SU5416 prevents the formation of new blood vessels required for tumor growth by blocking the Flk-1/KDR receptor found in the
endothelial cells of these blood vessels. The Flk-1/KDR receptor may play a role in the angiogenesis process in over 80% of all solid tumors.
To date, over 40 patients have been treated with SU5416 in a Phase I study at the University of California at Los Angeles. The dose escalation trial is
currently at 20 times the initial study dose with few toxicities observed. Based on preliminary findings from this study, SUGEN has initiated additional
Phase I and I/II trials to assess clinical markers and alternate dosing regimens in solid tumors, and safety and activity in highly vascularized tumors such
as Kaposi's sarcoma. SUGEN expects to initiate Phase II studies later in the year.
SUGEN, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of small molecule drugs which target specific cellular signal
transduction pathways. These signaling pathways are regulated by cell surface receptors or intracellular signaling molecules known as tyrosine kinases
(TKs), serine-threonine kinases (STKs) and tyrosine phosphatases (TPs). TKs, STKs and TPs are three of the largest known families of signal
transduction molecules in the body and are key regulators of critical cellular functions. Inappropriate signaling of TKs, STKs and TPs has been shown
to result in a variety of chronic and acute pathological diseases, including cancer and diabetes as well as dermatologic, ophthalmic, neurologic and
immune disorders. In addition to SU5416, SUGEN currently has two other products in clinical trials: SU101 (a PDGF receptor inhibitor) in Phase III
trials in refractory brain cancer and multiple Phase II studies for the treatment of prostate and other cancers; and SU5271 (an EGF receptor inhibitor) in
Phase I for the treatment of psoriasis. In addition to Taiho, the Company has major research and development collaborations with Zeneca, ASTA
Medica and Allergan.
Taiho Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. is a member of the Otsuka Group of companies, based in Tokyo, Japan. Taiho researches, develops and markets
anti-cancer, cardiovascular and immunologic agents. The company had over $636 million in sales in 1997 and employs nearly 2,200 people. Taiho's
lead product UFT is currently the number one anti-cancer agent in Japan. The company also has several novel and proprietary anti-cancer compounds,
including S-1 and TAS-103, which are in clinical development in the U.S.
This press release contains, in addition to historical information, forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual
results, including the further development of SU5416, could differ significantly from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors
that could cause or contribute to such differences include the factors more fully discussed in the Company's 1997 Form 10K and most recent Form
10-Q. The Company undertakes no obligation to release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements which may be made to reflect
events or circumstances occurring after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Additional written materials and press releases regarding SUGEN are available through the SUGEN Fax-On-Demand Information Service by dialing
888/329-4699 or at www.sugen.com.
CONTACT: SUGEN, Inc.
D. Kevin Kwok/Susan Kinkead, 650/306-7700
irdept@sugen.com
or
Burns McClellan, Inc.
Audra Nass, 415/352-6262 (media)
John Nugent, 212/213-0006 (investors)
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