On December 21, 2015 AVEO Oncology (NASDAQ:AVEO) and EUSA Pharma, a newly-established specialty pharmaceutical business with global reach, reported an exclusive license agreement in which AVEO has granted EUSA Pharma European rights to tivozanib for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma ("RCC") (Press release, AVEO, DEC 21, 2015, View Source [SID:1234508617]). Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo! The agreement also includes a number of additional territories outside North America, including South America and South Africa, and additional potential indications.
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Under the terms of the agreement, EUSA Pharma will pay AVEO an upfront research and development funding payment of $2.5 million, and up to $394 million in potential payments and milestones, assuming successful achievement of specified development, regulatory and commercialization objectives, as well as a tiered royalty ranging from a low double-digit up to mid-twenty percent on net sales of tivozanib in the agreement’s territories. A percentage of milestone and royalty payments received by AVEO are due to Kyowa Hakko Kirin as a sublicensing fee.
EUSA Pharma plans to submit a Marketing Authorization Application for tivozanib as a first line treatment for advanced RCC to the European Medicines Agency in the first quarter of 2016. Under the terms of the agreement, EUSA Pharma will undertake and fund future regulatory and commercial activities to bring tivozanib to market and commercialize the product within the agreement’s territories.
"Tivozanib has the potential to become an important new first line treatment for advanced renal cell carcinoma in Europe, and we look forward to submitting a Marketing Authorization Application in the coming months," said Lee Morley, chief executive officer of EUSA Pharma. "As a recently established specialty pharma company, we have ambitious growth plans, and tivozanib is a strong strategic fit with our portfolio of marketed specialty products, as we increase our focus on oncology."
"Our agreement with EUSA Pharma marks a critical step in the execution of our company strategy. Between our partnership with EUSA and our previous agreements with Ophthotech and Pharmstandard, we have a solid foundation to potentially generate near-term capital and long-term value for this important asset while retaining commercial rights to tivozanib in oncology in North America," said Michael Bailey, president and chief executive officer of AVEO. "These tivozanib partnerships collectively amount to over $35 million in potential payments over the next 18 months in addition to potential payments from our other licensed pipeline assets, which could provide substantial additional funding to support our tivozanib development strategy for North America. We look forward to working with the experienced commercial and regulatory team at EUSA Pharma as they seek to successfully commercialize tivozanib in Europe."
Today’s Conference Call Information
AVEO will host a conference call today, December 21, at 9:00 am (ET). The call can be accessed by dialing (866) 428-2694 (domestic) or (704) 908-0403 (international) five minutes prior to the start time and providing the conference ID 13985653. A live webcast of the conference call can be accessed by visiting the investors section of the AVEO website at www.aveooncology.com. A replay of the webcast will be archived on the AVEO website for two weeks following the call.
About Tivozanib
Tivozanib is an oral, once-daily, investigational vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). It is a potent, selective and long half-life inhibitor of all three VEGF receptors and is designed to optimize VEGF blockade while minimizing off-target toxicities, potentially resulting in improved efficacy and minimal dose modifications. Tivozanib has been evaluated in several tumors types, including renal cell, colorectal and breast cancers.
About EUSA Pharma
Founded in March 2015, EUSA Pharma is a specialty pharmaceutical company. The company has commercial operations in the US and Europe, and a wider distribution network in approximately 40 countries around the world. Currently, EUSA has a portfolio of five approved and several named-patient specialty hospital products, and the company has ambitious plans to expand this through acquisition and in-licensing. EUSA is led by an experienced management team with a strong record of building successful specialty pharmaceutical companies, and is supported by significant funding raised from leading life science investor Essex Woodlands.
EUSA Pharma’s products include: Caphosol for the treatment of oral mucositis, a common and debilitating side-effect of radiation therapy and high-dose chemotherapy; Collatamp, a gentamicin-collagen implant licensed either in haemostasis or for the prevention and treatment of surgical site infection; Custodiol solution for use in the preservation of organs for transplantation; Fomepizole for the treatment of ethylene glycol poisoning; and Xenazine for the treatment of movement disorders associated with Huntington’s chorea.
For more information please visit www.eusapharma.com.