On June 8, 2016 AstraZeneca reported it has entered into a commercialisation agreement with Aspen Global Incorporated (AGI), part of the Aspen Group, for rights to its global anaesthetics portfolio outside the US (Press release, AstraZeneca, JUN 8, 2016, View Source [SID:1234513247]). The agreement covers seven established medicines – Diprivan (general anaesthesia), EMLA (topical anaesthetic) and five local anaesthetics (Xylocaine/Xylocard/Xyloproct, Marcaine, Naropin, Carbocaine and Citanest).

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Under the terms of the agreement, AGI will acquire the commercialisation rights, outside the US, to AstraZeneca’s portfolio of anaesthetic medicines for an upfront consideration of $520 million. Additionally, AGI will pay AstraZeneca up to $250 million in a Product Sales-related payment, as well as double-digit percentage trademark royalties on Product Sales. AstraZeneca will manufacture and supply the products on a cost plus basis to AGI for an initial period of 10 years. Upon completion, Aspen will assume responsibility for all activities relating to the sale of the portfolio in all relevant markets.

Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer, AstraZeneca, said: "AstraZeneca has a rich heritage in anaesthetic medicines and this agreement will extend the reach of our established portfolio to a greater number of patients through AGI’s extensive commercial network. This agreement supports our strategic focus on the new medicines in three main therapy areas."

Stephen Saad, Group Chief Executive, Aspen, said: "This is a strategically-important investment for AGI and it is pleasing to have a company such as AstraZeneca recognise Aspen’s commercial competencies. This transaction is an excellent opportunity to build on the quality brands commercialised through AGI, working alongside an acknowledged pioneer and leader in the field of anaesthetics."

AstraZeneca’s portfolio of anaesthetics is available in over a hundred countries worldwide, including key markets such as China, Japan, Australia and Brazil. The portfolio continues to generate stable revenue, with global Product Sales in 2015 of $592 million. The US rights to the products were divested to Abraxis, now part of Fresenius Kabi, in 2006.

Financial considerations

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is anticipated to complete in the third quarter of 2016. AstraZeneca will retain a significant ongoing interest in the anaesthetics portfolio through ongoing milestone and royalty payments and the manufacture and supply of the products to Aspen. The upfront and milestone payments, as well as royalty receipts, which are open-ended, will therefore be reported as Externalisation Revenue in the Company’s financial statements. The agreement will not impact the Company’s financial guidance for 2016.

On June 8, 2016, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Spectrum"), Allos Therapeutics Inc. (the "Company"), and Sandoz Inc. ("Sandoz"), reported that they have entered into a settlement agreement to resolve their patent litigation relating to Folotyn (pralatrexate injection) (Filing, 8-K, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, JUN 8, 2016, View Source [SID:1234513243]). As a result of the settlement, Sandoz will be permitted to market a generic version of Folotyn in the United States on November 15, 2022 or earlier under certain circumstances. Details of the settlement are confidential, and the parties will submit the agreement to the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice. The parties will request that the court enter an order, in which it will dismiss the Company’s litigation against Sandoz. As previously reported, the Company has also settled the litigation against Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Ltd. & Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Inc. The Company’s litigation against one other generic filer continues. This litigation is described in further detail in Part II, Item 1 of Spectrum’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on May 6, 2016.

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On June 8, 2016 Sanofi today reported that it has filed an investor presentation with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") in connection with its proposed acquisition of Medivation, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDVN) (Press release, Sanofi, JUN 8, 2016, View Source [SID:1234513242]). This presentation is available on the Investor Relations section of Sanofi’s website.

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Among other things, the presentation notes:
The proposed transaction would provide compelling strategic and financial benefits for Sanofi and Medivation shareholders;

Sanofi’s proposal is not subject to any financing condition and the company is confident in its ability to receive all necessary regulatory approvals;

Combining with Medivation would accelerate Sanofi’s strategic priority of rebuilding a competitive position in oncology;

Sanofi has stated on several occasions that if Medivation were to engage and provide information, it would be in a position to increase its offer and is confident that it would be able to offer significant additional value;

Sanofi is willing to enter into a customary confidentiality agreement with Medivation, which would include a reasonable standstill to give time for Medivation to conduct a sale process;

The consent solicitation process allows Medivation shareholders to demonstrate support for a transaction by removing and replacing the Medivation Board with directors committed to acting in the best interest of maximizing value for Medivation shareholders;

Sanofi believes there is a clear path to completion: the record date to determine Medivation shareholders entitled to give their written consent has been established as June 1, 2016; Sanofi expects the initial Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) waiting period to expire on June 13, 2016; Sanofi anticipates filing definitive consent solicitation materials in mid-June 2016; and Sanofi signed a consent on
June 3, 2016 for the shares it owns in Medivation and therefore expects that the 60-day consent solicitation period will conclude no later than August 1, 2016; and

Sanofi believes that Medivation’s shareholders overwhelmingly support the sale of Medivation and want Medivation to engage with Sanofi.

On June 8, 2016 Cantargia AB reported that its patent application for IL1RAP as target molecule for antibody-based therapies and diagnostics of solid tumours has been approved by the Japan Patent Office (JPO) (Press release, Cantargia, JUN 8, 2016, View Source [SID:1234513154]).

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The patent approval (patent no. 5940093) refers to the company’s method of using IL1RAP as target molecule for treatment of the vast majority of solid tumours. The approved patent includes those diseases which Cantargia has chosen to focus its initial development activities on, i.e. lung cancer and pancreatic cancer, as well as other major diseases such as breast cancer, colorectal cancer and prostate cancer. The patent’s validity extends to 2032. The patent also provides protection for several different antibody-drug conjugates targeted to IL1RAP and for associated diagnostic methods.

"The approval of the patent is of great strategic significance for Cantargia and the future commercialisation of our CAN04 product candidate", CEO Göran Forsberg says. "Having received approval in Japan, we now have protection for treatment of solid tumours in both Europe and Japan, which are two of the largest pharmaceutical markets".

On June 8, 2016 Kite Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq:KITE) ("Kite"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing engineered autologous T-cell therapy (eACT) products for the treatment of cancer, reported three oral presentations relating to its clinical programs will be delivered at the upcoming 2016 European Hematology Association (EHA) (Free EHA Whitepaper) Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark, June 9-12, 2016 (Press release, Kite Pharma, JUN 8, 2016, View Source [SID:1234513140]).

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"We are excited to showcase the progress we have made with personalized T-cell immuno-oncology for people with refractory lymphoma and to share our understanding of the outcomes for this patient population who have limited or no treatment options," said Arie Belldegrun, M.D., FACS, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Kite. "These data are important to advance our novel breakthrough personalized treatments and ultimately address critical unmet medical needs."

Updated data from Phase 1 of Kite’s ZUMA-1 study of KTE-C19 in patients with chemorefractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) will be presented in an oral presentation. An additional oral presentation will feature data from the SCHOLAR-1 study, the first and largest meta-analysis of outcomes in patients with chemorefractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), an aggressive and common form of NHL that is difficult to treat. Patients with chemorefractory DLBCL have not responded to prior treatment with chemotherapy or have relapsed within a year after autologous stem cell transplantation.

Data from a Phase 1-2a study evaluating anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy after low-dose chemotherapy in people with advanced lymphoma will also be highlighted in an oral presentation. This study is being conducted as part of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between Kite and the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Kite also recently announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) and Committee for Advanced Therapies (CAT) has granted access to its newly established Priority Medicines (PRIME) regulatory initiative for KTE-C19 in the treatment of patients with refractory DLBCL. PRIME provides early and enhanced regulatory support to optimize regulatory applications and speed up the review of medicines that address a high unmet need. KTE-C19 is an investigational therapy in which a patient’s T cells are genetically modified to express a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) designed to target the antigen CD19, a protein expressed on the cell surface of B-cell lymphomas and leukemias.

Oral presentations at the 2016 EHA (Free EHA Whitepaper) Annual Congress:

Results from SCHOLAR-1: Outcomes in patients with refractory aggressive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL)

Date: Saturday, June 11, 2016, 5:00 – 5:15 PM CEST
Location: Hall A1
Abstract Number: S481
Presenter: Christian Gisselbrecht, M.D., The Lymphoma Academic Research Organisation (LYSARC), Pierre-Bénite, France

Updated results from ZUMA-1: A phase 1-2 multicenter study evaluating the safety and efficacy of KTE-C19 (anti-CD19 CAR T cells) in refractory aggressive B-cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL)

Date: Sunday, June 12, 2016, 8:45 – 9:00 AM CEST
Location: Hall A1
Abstract Number: S791
Presenter: Tanya Siddiqi, M.D., City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA

Low-dose chemotherapy followed by anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells induces remissions in patients with advanced lymphoma

Date: Sunday, June 12, 2016, 9:00 – 9:15 AM CEST
Location: Hall A1
Abstract Number: S792
Presenter: Stephanie L. Goff, M.D., Surgery Branch, Center for Cancer Research, The National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD

About Kite’s ZUMA Clinical Programs for KTE-C19

KTE-C19 is an investigational therapy in which a patient’s T cells are genetically modified to express a CAR that is designed to target the antigen CD19, a protein expressed on the cell surface of B-cell lymphomas and leukemias. Kite is currently enrolling four pivotal studies (also known as ZUMA studies) for KTE-C19 in patients with various B-cell malignancies.

Study Phase Indication Status
ZUMA-1
NCT02348216 Phase 2 Pivotal
(N=112) Chemorefractory DLBCL, PMBCL, TFL Phase 2 enrolling
ZUMA-2
NCT02601313 Phase 2 Pivotal
(N=70) Relapsed/refractory MCL Phase 2 enrolling
ZUMA-3
NCT02614066 Phase 1/2 Pivotal
(N=75) Relapsed/refractory Adult ALL Phase 1/2 enrolling
ZUMA-4
NCT02625480 Phase 1/2 Pivotal
(N=75) Relapsed/refractory Pediatric ALL Phase 1/2 enrolling

DLBCL = diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
PMBCL = primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma
TFL = transformed follicular lymphoma
MCL = mantle cell lymphoma
ALL = acute lymphoblastic leukemia