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news.Aeterna Zentaris and Sinopharm A-Think Pharmaceuticals announced the signing of an exclusive license and technology transfer agreement, for the Company's lead anti-cancer compound, zoptarelin doxorubicin, for the initial indication of endometrial cancer, for the Chinese, Hong Kong and Macau markets.
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Zoptarelin doxorubicin, a novel synthetic peptide carrier linked to doxorubicin, is currently in a ZoptEC (Zoptarelin doxorubicin in Endometrial Cancer) Phase 3 trial in endometrial cancer.
Under the terms of the Master Collaboration Agreement, Aeterna Zentaris will be entitled to receive a non-refundable $1 million fee for the transfer of the Company’s technology for zoptarelin doxorubicin to SinopharmA-Think.
SinopharmA-Think has also agreed to make additional payments to the Company upon achieving certain pre-established regulatory and commercial milestones. Furthermore, the Company will receive royalties on future net sales of zoptarelin doxorubicin in the Territory. SinopharmA-Think will be responsible for the development, production, registration and commercialization of the product in the Territory.
David Dodd, Chairman and CEO at Aeterna Zentaris stated, "We are very excited regarding this agreement for zoptarelin doxorubicin with Sinopharm, the largest pharmaceutical company in China, which is one of the major domestic markets in the world for pharmaceutical products.
"Women with advanced endometrial cancer are in need of additional treatments, and zoptarelin doxorubicin might prove to be a significant treatment option for them. This agreement is also consistent with our strategy of leveraging our pipeline to secure future revenues with strategic development and commercial licensees for specific regions of the world."
Dr. Jia Zhidan, General Manager of Sinopharm A-Think, similarly indicated that, "We believe zoptarelin doxorubicin can pioneer the use of conjugate technology in advanced endometrial cancer, as earlier clinical development with this product has shown encouraging data in overall survival and tolerability. We also believe that zoptarelin doxorubicin has the potential to become our star product in the future.
"As an enterprise committed to building up a professional anti-cancer platform, we would like to look for additional promising products such as zoptarelin doxorubicin, and are more than willing to cooperate with excellent companies such as Aeterna Zentaris. We hope to engage additional cooperation opportunities in the future, benefitting more cancer patients."