Pharmacyclics has acquired multiple small molecule drug candidates for the treatment of cancer and other diseases from Celera Genomics. Under the terms of the agreement, Pharmacyclics has acquired Celera technology and intellectual property relating to drugs that target histone deacetylase (HDAC) enzymes, selective HDAC enzymes, angiogenesis molecules and B cell tyrosine kinases involved in immune function.
The financial terms of the transaction include an upfront cash payment of $2 million and an equity payment of between five hundred thousand and one million shares of Pharmacyclics common stock, depending on Pharmacyclics' stock price during a specified period. If these programs meet certain developmental stage milestone events and result in drugs that are approved and commercialized in key geographical markets they may generate potential future milestone payments to Celera of up to $144 million. In addition, Celera will be entitled to royalty payments in the mid- to high single digits based on annual sales of any drugs commercialized from the three programs.
Pharmacyclics' acquisition includes- HDAC inhibitor drug candidates in Phase 1 clinical trials for treatment of refractory solid tumours; a first-in-class HDAC-8 selective inhibitor in preclinical development for the potential treatment of cancer; a first-in-class Factor VIIa inhibitor targeting a tumour signalling pathway involved in angiogenesis, tumor cell growth and metastases,and with potential applications in anticoagulation and cardiology; and B-cell-associated tyrosine kinase inhibitors, which have potential utility in lymphoma and autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis.
"This transaction enables us to realize immediate and potential long-term value as these programs continue to progress, while allowing us to focus our resources on our core business of molecular diagnostics and proteomics and genomics discovery," said Kathy Ordonez, president of Celera Genomics.
"Together with our late-stage lead product candidate, Xcytrin (motexafin gadolinium) Injection, these novel programs provide us with a deep pipeline of diverse products and strengthen our developing oncology franchise," Richard A. Miller, president and chief executive officer of Pharmacyclics said adding, "We are in discussions with the FDA regarding our recent Phase 3 SMART trial results, and several other Phase 2 trials in a range of cancers are ongoing with Xcytrin. The Celera programs are an ideal fit with our small-molecule chemistry technology platform and oncology clinical development core competency."