Bristol-Myers reels back in an early-stage cancer drug prospect in $60M Asia deal
Close to 5 years after Bristol-Myers Squibb farmed out the c-MET inhibitor BMS-777607 to Singapore-based Aslan, the Big Biotech has seen enough early-stage data to warrant buying it back. Aslan is handing the drug along with its Pacific Rim rights for $10 million upfront and another $50 million in milestones, plus royalties.
The original deal back in 2011 was billed as a risk-sharing option: Aslan got development and regional commercialization rights for a drug that Bristol-Myers would continue to own in the rest of the world. It took awhile, but little Aslan completed a Phase I program, concluding that the drug had some real potential as demonstrated against plasma biomarkers and adding RON as a target. “Inhibition of RON resulted in suppression of plasma C-terminal telopeptide (CTX) levels, an established biomarker of osteoclast activity,” notes Aslan on its web site.
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