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By Jennifer Boggs
Assistant Managing Editor
ProMetic Life Sciences Inc. entered a potential $295 million licensing agreement with Abraxis BioScience to develop four products targeting undisclosed underserved medical conditions on a worldwide basis, excluding China and Taiwan.
Specific details as to the products and prospective indications remain confidential, but the firms said market opportunities could exceed $600 million in revenue for Abraxis alone. Under the terms, Abraxis gains rights to ProMetic's protein technologies and will handle all development costs through regulatory approval and take on commercialization responsibilities.
In exchange, Montreal-based ProMetic will get an initial strategic investment of $7 million - in the sale of shares issued at C47 cents apiece (US44 cents) - and Abraxis will have the right to make optional investments of up to $25 million.
Beyond that, ProMetic could get $8 million in development milestones and sales milestones of up to $287 million, plus royalties on any net sales.
But for ProMetic, it's "not so much about the financial aspect as it is about the validation of our technology," said Anne Leduc, manager of investor relations for the Canadian firm.
She told BioWorld Today that the deal "also brings forward all our past investments in infrastructure and R&D" and positions the company to move forward.
Nevertheless, the cash infusion is expected to help fund the company's ongoing operations, and the firm stated in its press release that the 2008 cash-flow contribution from the Abraxis deal is expected to be in the $10 million range.
The company, which reported a net loss of C$5.6 million, or C2 cents per share, for the second quarter, had about C$2.5 million in cash and equivalents as of June 30.
ProMetic's technologies are aimed at large-scale drug purification, drug development, proteomics and the elimination of pathogens. Its work previously landed strategic alliances with the likes of the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products in China, which will use ProMetic's Plasma Protein Purification System for manufacturing in the Chinese market, and Italian firm Kedrion SpA, with which ProMetic is developing two hyperimmune products in exchange for up-front and milestone payments.
"So the [Abraxis deal] is an expansion of our ongoing business strategy," Leduc said.
On its own, ProMetic continues to advance its pipeline, which includes PBI-1402, a drug designed to mimic the biological activity of erythropoietin but via a different mechanism of action. It is in Phase II development in chemotherapy-induced anemia.
The company anticipates finding a collaborator for PBI-1402 and "active partnering discussions are still ongoing," Leduc said.
Earlier in the pipeline, ProMetic has analogues to PBI-1402 and new chemical entities in areas such as cancer and autoimmune disease.
Shares of ProMetic (TSX:PLI) closed at C33 cents Thursday, down C2 cents.
For Los Angeles-based Abraxis, which markets the protein-bound chemotherapeutic agent Abraxane in metastatic breast cancer, the deal allows the firm access to additional protein technologies and the chance to add to its commercialized product line.
Abraxis' stock (NASDAQ:ABII) gained 34 cents Thursday to close at $73.30. | 
