Astellas enters into agreement with Medivation to develop MDV3100

Oct 27 2009

Astellas Pharma Inc. ("Astellas") and Medivation, Inc. (Nasdaq: MDVN) announced today that they have entered into a global agreement to develop and commercialize MDV3100, Medivation's investigational drug for the treatment of prostate cancer. MDV3100 is currently being evaluated in the Phase 3 AFFIRM clinical trial in men with castration-resistant prostate cancer who were previously treated with docetaxel-based chemotherapy.

Under the terms of the agreement, Medivation will receive an up-front cash payment of $110 million. Medivation is also eligible to receive payments of up to $335 million upon the attainment of development and regulatory milestones plus up to an additional $320 million in commercial milestone payments. The companies will collaborate on a comprehensive development program that will include additional studies to develop MDV3100 for both late- and early-stage prostate cancer. Subject to receipt of regulatory approval, the companies will jointly commercialize MDV3100 in the U.S. The companies will share equally all U.S. development costs, commercialization costs, and profits. Astellas will have responsibility for developing and commercializing MDV3100 outside the U.S. and will pay Medivation tiered double-digit royalties on ex-U.S. sales.

"We are pleased to initiate a great partnership with Medivation," stated Masafumi Nogimori, president and chief executive officer of Astellas. "We believe that MDV3100 has the unique potential to establish a new treatment approach for prostate cancer. Astellas already has the global expertise in urology and the strong commitment to focus on oncology. This partnership is a significant milestone to further expand our business in urology and to establish our franchise in oncology."

"We are excited to be working with Astellas to develop MDV3100 for a broad spectrum of prostate cancer disease states," said David Hung, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Medivation. "Astellas is an ideal partner for MDV3100 given its global reach, leading commercial presence in the urology space, and strategic focus on oncology. Astellas is the second major collaboration we have completed in the past year, and we are confident we have the right partners in place for each of our late-stage programs--Astellas for MDV3100 and Pfizer, Inc for dimebon (latrepirdine)."

According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer among men in the United States. More than 2 million American men have prostate cancer, and it is the second leading cause of cancer death among men after lung cancer. In 2009, an estimated 192,000 new cases are expected to be diagnosed, and approximately 27,000 men are expected to die from the disease.

MDV3100, a new generation of oral anti-androgen, which shows different pharmacological profiles from current anti-androgens, has been shown in preclinical studies to provide more complete suppression of the androgen receptor pathway than bicalutamide, the most commonly used anti-androgen. MDV3100 slows growth and induces cell death in bicalutamide-resistant cancers via three complementary actions - MDV3100 blocks testosterone binding to the androgen receptor, impedes movement of the androgen receptor to the nucleus of prostate cancer cells (nuclear translocation), and inhibits binding to DNA. Preclinical data published in Science earlier this year demonstrated that MDV3100 is superior to bicalutamide in each of these three actions.

The agreement is not subject to approval under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 and becomes effective immediately. Medivation's legal and financial advisers on the transaction were Cooley Godward Kronish LLP and Aquilo Partners, L.P. Astellas' legal adviser on the transaction was Covington & Burling LLP.