AVEO Oncology, a biopharmaceutical company, has entered into an exclusive license agreement with a subsidiary of Pharmstandard Group, the largest Russian pharmaceutical group (Pharmstandard), for the development, manufacturing and commercialisation of AVEO’s small molecule vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) tyrosine kinase inhibitor tivozanib in the territories of Russia, Ukraine and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), for all indications excluding ocular conditions.

Under the terms of the agreement, Pharmstandard is obligated to pay AVEO an upfront payment of $1.5 million. AVEO is also eligible to receive up to $7.5 million in connection with the first marketing authorisation of tivozanib in Russia, $3 million for each additional approved indication thereafter and a high single-digit royalty on net sales in the above mentioned territories.

Pharmstandard will be responsible for all activities and costs associated with the further development, regulatory filings, health services and commercialisation of tivozanib in the specified territories. A percentage of all upfront, milestone and royalty payments received by AVEO are due to Kyowa Hakko Kirin as a sublicensing fee.

“Similar to our agreement with Ophthotech, this transaction represents an opportunity to monetize tivozanib in areas outside of our core strategic focus, and we believe that this agreement further validates the body of clinical data for, and unique product profile of, tivozanib,” said Michael Bailey, president and chief executive officer of AVEO.

“We will continue to explore additional strategies to unlock the value of this asset, and remain committed to our goal of leveraging biomarker data and external partnerships to advance our pipeline.”

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 optimise VEGF blockade while minimising 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.