By Matthew Willett
Pharmacyclics Inc. regained worldwide rights to Lutrin (motexafin lutetium), its anticancer injection drug, from Nycomed Amersham plc.
As part of a development and commercialization deal with Nycomed Amersham in 1997, Pharmacyclics held rights to Lutrin, a photodynamic therapy, in the U.S., Canada and Japan. The company now has rights to Europe, Asia, South and Central America, as well.
Nycomed Amersham, which merged with Amersham International in 1997, was obligated under the agreement to make milestone payments and provide some development funding, and Amersham will pay Pharmacyclics a one-time $2.75 million fee during this quarter to cover future research and development obligations.
Pharmacyclics CEO and President Richard Miller said the reacquisition of rights not only guarantees a concentrated development and commercialization effort for Lutrin, it also bolsters the company¿s claims on an oncology franchise.
¿When we did this deal it was October 1997, and Nycomed was an independent company at that time,¿ Miller said. ¿Months later, they merged with Amersham, which is primarily a diagnostics company, and over the course of the next year it became clear that the new company, Nycomed Amersham, had reoriented its focus. The strategic fit was no longer there, and we began discussions on taking the rights back, as they were obviously not going to be a committed commercialization partner.¿
The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company specializes in developing energy-potentiating drugs to treat cancer, atherosclerosis and retinal disease. Its platform technology involves texaphyrins, ring-shaped small molecules that localize in cancer cells, atherosclerotic plaques and neovasculature. In order to eliminate disease tissues, various forms of energy, including X-rays, light and chemotherapeutics, can activate these texaphyrins.
Lutrin is a photo-sensitizer of a class of compounds called texaphyrins that accumulate in cancer cells and disrupt cellular metabolism by interfering with the flow of energy within the cells.
¿The structure of the reacquisition deal was that we get all rights back with no residual obligation,¿ Miller told BioWorld Today. ¿They¿ll pay us $2.75 million, their portion of the future research and development expenses, so for us it¿s a great deal. We got our rights back and we got our money, and we get to do what we want to with it.¿
The company¿s lead molecule, Xcytrin (motexafin gadolinium), recently completed enrollment in a Phase III trial to increase the efficacy of radiation therapy for tumors that have spread to the brain.
The company has completed one Phase II trial of Lutrin for recurrent breast cancer, and is planning Phase I studies of both Xcytrin and Lutrin in other cancer indications.
Lutrin is in a Phase IIb study for patients with recurrent breast cancer to the chest wall as well as a Phase I trial in prostate and cervical cancer through a cooperative research agreement with the National Cancer Institute.
Another product, Optin (motexafin lutetium), a texaphyrin for age-related macular degeneration, is in Phase I/II trials.
Pharmacyclics also completed a Phase I trial of Antrin (also motexafin lutetium) injection for the treatment of coronary artery disease. Already under way is a Phase II trial of Antrin as a photo-angioplasty treatment for patients with peripheral arterial disease.
Pharmacyclics¿ stock (NASDAQ:PCYC) dropped 93 cents Friday to close at $31.81.