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news.Private biopharmaceutical company Sapphire Therapeutics has licensed a novel drug candidate for treating cancer patients with the wasting disease cachexia and anorexia to Ono Pharmaceutical.
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Ono has obtained exclusive rights to develop and commercialize RC-1291 in Japan, Korea and Taiwan under this agreement. Ono will pay Sapphire upfront and milestone payments as well as royalties on sales of RC-1291. Ono plans to start phase I trials for RC-1291 in Japan in the second quarter of 2007.
“We identified and licensed Sapphire’s RC-1291 which is expected to become a first drug for cancer anorexia/cachexia,” said Shozo Matsuoka, executive director, development headquarters, Ono. “RC-1291, acting directly on the appetite and anabolic pathways, could bring cancer anorexia/cachexia patients the benefits of appetite stimulation and lean muscle-building activity to improve their independence and quality of life.”
RC-1291 received FDA fast-track designation in January 2005, and is currently undergoing phase II trials in cancer patients with anorexia and cachexia.
Cachexia includes symptoms that are sometimes referred to as “wasting” symptoms including loss of appetite, anorexia and lean body mass. Cachexia frequently accompanies malignant cancers.