Allos, Mundipharma to Collaborate on Cancer Drugs

(Research.gov)

Allos Therapeutics in Westminster, Colorado and Mundipharma International Corp. Ltd in Cambridge, U.K. have agreed to co-commercialize the drug Folotyn developed by Allos, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in cancer therapies. Mundipharma is a group of drug development companies in Europe.

Folotyn is a folate analogue metabolic inhibitor approved in the U.S. for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL), a diverse group of aggressive blood cancers. While FDA granted accelerated approval for Folotyn as a treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory PTCL, Allos is still required to conduct post-approval studies to verify and describe the clinical benefit of the drug in patients with T-cell lymphoma.

Under the agreement, Allos retains full commercialization rights for Folotyn in the U.S. and Canada, with Mundipharma receiving exclusive rights to commercialize Folotyn in all other countries. Allos will receive an upfront payment of $50 million, with future milestone payments of up to $310.5 million. Allos can also receive royalties based on net sales of Folotyn in Mundipharma’s territories.

Allos’ Marketing Authorisation Application (MAA) was accepted for review by the European Medicines Agency in December 2010. Further development costs for Folotyn will be divided between the companies, with percentages depending on achievement of certain milestones, including approval of the MAA to market the drug in the European Union. Mundipharma will support agreed-upon clinical studies, including a phase 3 trial.

Read more: FDA Approves Drug for Rare Blood Vessel Disorders

*     *     *