Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd., an integrated global pharmaceutical company, and Oregon based, Galena Biopharma have signed a strategic partnership to develop and commercialize NeuVax (nelipepimut-S) in India. NeuVax is a vaccine aimed at preventing the recurrence of breast cancer in patients under remission.

Under the terms of the agreement Galena will license commercial rights of NeuVax to Dr Reddy’s for breast and gastric cancers. Dr Reddy’s will lead the development of NeuVax in gastric cancer, and help significantly expand the scope of therapy by addressing a new patient population. Galena will receive development and sales milestones, as well as double-digit royalties on net sales. The licensing and development terms are conditioned to an agreement on ancillary activities.

“NeuVax promises to meet significant unmet need in breast cancer and gastric cancer patients especially due to late diagnosis for majority of the patients in India and therefore may have high probability of relapse of the disease” said Alok Sonig, senior vice president and head of India Business (Generics). “NeuVax potentially will reduce the risk of relapse significantly as demonstrated in successful phase II trials” he added.

“This partnership with Dr Reddy’s is consistent with our strategy to expand the clinical utility of NeuVax in unmet medical needs while simultaneously increasing the commercial footprint of this innovative cancer immunotherapy,” said Mark J Ahn, president and CEO of Galena Biopharma. “Dr Reddy’s is a global pharmaceutical company with significant commercialization and development expertise. The gastric cancer trial will add a significant indication to our pipeline for NeuVax, while doubling our potential patient population if approved.”

Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. is committed to providing affordable and innovative medicines for healthier lives.

Galena Biopharma, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company commercializing and developing innovative, targeted oncology treatments that address major unmet medical needs to advance cancer care.