Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

ADH – COO Robin Norris comes across
in this piece like a Yahoo message-board
poster, and that’s not what you want in a
top executive. (The author refers to Dr.
Norris as the CEO instead of the COO,
but that’s par for journalists these days.)

http://biz.yahoo.com/bizj/061012/1359528.html?.v=2

>>
Adherex loses GSK deal worth up to $100M

October 12, 2006
Triangle Business Journal

A Triangle cancer drug firm has lost out on a licensing deal with pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline that could have been worth as much as $100 million.

Research Triangle Park-based Adherex announced in July 2005 an agreement that gave GSK the option to license Adherex's lead drug candidate, ADH-1, for as much as $100 million in development and milestone payments.

Adherex said Wednesday afternoon that the agreement had expired unexercised. As a result, Adherex retains full rights to ADH-1 but misses out on the potential millions from the GSK deal.

Adherex President and Chief Executive [should be “Chief Operating”] Officer Dr. Robin Norris would not speculate as to why GSK declined to exercise the option but said that, as ADH-1 progressed in the clinical process, GSK likely would have been pressed to invest more money in the drug.

"If (GSK) had taken this on, it would have required them to start spending a lot of money," Norris says. "Our drug, in relatively early clinical stages, may simply not have been the best fit for them...but we're very bullish on it and we know our investors like it."

Adherex officials said that the company plans to continue development of ADH-1, which is currently in phase II clinical trials.

"We see this as a very positive event," Norris says. "Over the last few years, we've had a number of other companies approach us about ADH-1... Having the GSK option in place really precluded us from considering other options."

The 2005 contract with GSK also gave Adherex an exclusive license to develop GSK's eniluracil as a cancer treatment. GSK has the right to buy back the drug at a later date, in which case Adherex stands to make as much as $120 million. That portion of the agreement remains unchanged.

The stock price for Adherex gained three pennies in early afternoon trading Thursday, from 34 cents to 37 cents.

Telephone calls seeking comment from GSK officials were not immediately returned.
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