Cell Therapeutics to sell stake in Zevalin joint venture to Spectrum

Cell Therapeutics (CTI) and Spectrum established a joint venture in December 2008 to develop and commercialize Zevalin. At that time CTI contributed all of the Zevalin related assets to the joint venture and sold to Spectrum a 50% membership interest in the joint venture for $15 million, plus certain milestone payments.

The company will focus its resources on the approval of pixantrone for relapsed aggressive non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and Opaxio for non-small cell lung and ovarian cancer. CTI estimates that as a result of the sale of the Zevalin interest it will reduce expenses by approximately $15 million annually from activities previously associated with Zevalin while providing CTI with non-dilutive source of operating capital.

At the closing of the sale of CTI’s 50% membership interest in the joint venture to Spectrum, CTI will receive $6 million, with the remainder of the $18 million to be paid within 90 days following such closing.

The closing of the sale option transaction is contingent upon the satisfaction of certain closing conditions, including the delivery of a legal opinion from counsel to CTI, as specified in the operating agreement for the Zevalin joint venture. CTI believes that it will be in a position to promptly satisfy all of the closing conditions.

James Bianco, CEO of CTI, said: CTI continues to believe in the value of Zevalin as a commercially attractive product and effective form of cancer therapy; however, with the impressive clinical trial results for pixantrone and given the company’s need for operating capital, we are compelled to exercise our option and focus our resources on pixantrone.