International biopharmaceutical company Specialised Therapeutics Asia (ST Asia) will supply and distribute a novel oncology drug candidate throughout South East Asia, following an exclusive licensing deal with European pharmaceutical company PharmaMar.
Under the terms of the latest agreement, ST Asia will be allowed marketing and distribution rights to new multiple myeloma compound APLIDIN® (plitidepsin) in key regions including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Timor-Leste, Thailand, and Vietnam, as well as in Australia and New Zealand.
APLIDIN is a first in class drug currently in development for the treatment of multiple myeloma and a type of T cell lymphoma.
Commercial terms of the agreement are not being disclosed, but PharmaMar will receive an upfront payment, royalties and additional remunerations for regulatory and sales milestones achieved by APLIDIN in these new markets.
PharmaMar will retain production rights and will supply the finished product to ST Asia for exclusive commercial use in all agreed regions.
APLIDIN is PharmaMar's second anti-cancer drug candidate obtained from a marine organism.
The company announced in June 2015 that patient recruitment of the international pivotal Phase 3 trial (ADMYRE) for APLIDIN in refractory/relapsed multiple myeloma was successfully completed[i]. Data from this study is expected to be reported later this year.
Specialised Therapeutics Asia Chief Executive Officer Mr Carlo Montagner said the APLIDIN licensing deal was an important step forward as the company expanded operations to include key territories in South East Asia.
"We look forward to working with PharmaMar to ensure this valuable multiple myeloma therapy is available as soon as possible to patients in key South East Asia regions, as well as in Australia and New Zealand," he said.
"APLIDIN may be highly valuable as a new therapeutic for this difficult to treat cancer. While multiple myeloma remains relatively rare, it is an insidious disease with one of the lowest survival rates in oncology. ST Asia has been established to provide new therapeutics like this one to patients where there is a high unmet need."
"APLIDIN is the first step. We look forward to changing the lives of patients affected by a range of diseases – not only in oncology – in these new and important markets."
PharmaMar Chairman José María Fernandez Sousa-Faro said: "We are proud to enter into agreements with laboratories such as STA that enable us to ensure that all patients who need plitidepsin can avail themselves of it. We are firmly committed to advancing in the development of innovative therapies that benefit society."
The total population of South East Asian regions including Australia and New Zealand is put at 650 million, with an estimated 300,000 people living with multiple myeloma overall and between 30,000 and 40,000 new cases of the disease diagnosed annually.
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