Clal Biotechnology Industries Ltd. (TASE: CBI) unit Curetech has sold the commercialization rights to its cancer treatment pidilizumab (CT-011) to US company Medivation Inc. (Nasdaq: MDVN). Pidilizumab is a late-stage clinical molecule, an immune modulatory anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody. Under the license agreement, Medivation will be responsible for all development, regulatory and commercialization activities for pidilizumab for all indications, including oncology.
Under the terms of the license agreement, CureTech will receive an upfront payment of up to $5 million from Medivation and potential milestone payments of up to $85 million and up to $245 million in royalties on global sales through tiered royalties ranging from 4%-11% based on annual worldwide net sales.
Medivation President and CEO Dr. David Hung said, “Immuno-oncology is a significant area of interest for researchers in the development of anti-cancer therapies, marked by its potential to stimulate the body’s immune system to fight disease. Licensing rights to pidilizumab under this agreement marks an important step in our strategy to further diversify our portfolio.”
The arrangement with Curetech includes a manufacturing and supply agreement in which Curetech will manufacture and supply the antibody to Medivation over the next 3 years for clinical development purposes. The deal also includes a guaranty agreement between Medivation and CureTech’s largest (53%) shareholder - Clal Biotechnology Industries - with respect to certain obligations of CureTech. The guaranty is subject to approval by CBI shareholders. If approval of the guaranty agreement is not obtained, Medivation has the option to terminate both the license agreement and the manufacturing and supply agreement or proceed with such agreements on reduced economic terms (i.e. a reduction of $2 million in the upfront payment and 1% from each tier of royalties). The shareholder vote on the guaranty and Medivation’s exercise of its option to continue to maintain the license are expected in December 2014.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 26, 2014
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