Pharmion buys Cabrellis for $59 million

Under the terms of the agreement, Pharmion is acquiring Cabrellis for an initial cash payment of $59 million. In addition, Pharmion will make two additional payments of $12.5 million each upon approval of amrubicin by regulatory authorities in the US and the EU.

Amrubicin is currently in advanced phase II development for small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Amrubicin has been approved in Japan since 2002, where it is marketed by Nippon Kayaku under the trade name Calsed. Dainippon Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals, the original developer of amrubicin, licensed the Japanese marketing rights to Nippon Kayaku in January 2005, and the North America and EU rights to Cabrellis in June 2005. Anthracyclines are among the most widely used anticancer drugs in clinical use today.

Clinical trial results demonstrate that amrubicin has substantial activity in lung cancer, far greater than that reported for other anthracyclines. In phase II studies, amrubicin has demonstrated clinical efficacy both as a single agent and in combination with cisplatin. In previously untreated SCLC patients, amrubicin produced an overall response rate of 76% when administered as a single agent and 88% when administered in combination with cisplatin.

Based on these encouraging phase II results, Pharmion intends to initiate a phase III registrational study in relapsed/refractory SCLC in the second half of 2007. Pharmion also expects to submit a new drug application in the US and a marketing authorization application in the EU for amrubicin in the treatment of relapsed/refractory SCLC during 2009.

“The efficacy of chemotherapy for patients with small cell lung cancer has plateaued over the last two decades,” said Mark Green, clinical professor of medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina. “In particular, the outlook for patients with extensive SCLC at diagnosis and after failure of first line therapy remains poor. The current efficacy for amrubicin therapy in these SCLC settings is very encouraging.”