ARRY alert -Array in $467M cancer drug deal with Novartis
Array licenses cancer drug candidate to Novartis in deal worth up to $467M, plus royalties
On Tuesday April 20, 2010, 11:09 am EDT
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Array BioPharma Inc. surged Tuesday after the company said it licensed a group of experimental cancer treatments to Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG in a deal that could include $467 million in payments plus royalties.
Array licensed its cancer drug candidate ARRY-162, along with similar drugs, to Novartis for $45 million upfront and potential development and regulatory milestone payments of $422 million. The drugs are designed to block an enzyme that is involved in the growth and survival of cancer cells.
Array, which is based in Boulder, Colo., will also get royalty payments of more than 10 percent on sales outside the U.S., and can get larger payments on U.S. sales if it meets funding obligations.
In morning trading Array stock jumped $1.05, or 34.8 percent, to $4.07.
The company is conducting an early-stage trial of ARRY-162 to evaluate the drug's safety and determine the most effective dose. It is being given by mouth to patients with solid tumors, and Array wants to expand the study to include patients with cancer of the biliary tract.
The other drugs involved in the collaboration are ARRY-300, which Array described as a backup to ARRY-162, and other drugs that are intended to block the same enzyme
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