Sun Pharma, Philogen join hands to commercialise skin cancer drug in Europe

Sun Pharmaceuticals said on Tuesday it has entered into a licensing agreement with Philogen SpA to market a skin cancer drug in development in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Sun Pharma said in a statement that the two companies have come together to market Phylogen’s specialized product Nidlegy, a biological anti-cancer drug currently undergoing Phase III clinical trials.

Philogen, a Swiss-Italian company, is developing it to treat melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Mumbai-based drugmaker will have exclusive rights to market Nidlegy.

Philogen will complete pivotal clinical trials of the product in Europe, pursue marketing authorization with regulatory authorities and manufacture commercial supplies.

The major pharmaceutical company said the two partner companies would trade in post-marketing economics in a 50:50 ratio.

It said that while other financial terms were not disclosed, Vision will retain Nidlegy’s intellectual property rights for territories and indices other than melanomas.

“This collaboration is in line with our goal of offering patients innovative products. With the expected addition of Nidlegy to the existing Odomzo franchise, we will be well positioned to offer solutions to patients across a wide spectrum of skin cancers at different disease stages,” noted Sun Pharma’s Business Head – Western Europe and ANZ Hellen De Kloet.

Sun Pharma shares were trading down 0.53 percent at 963 rupees per share on the Bahrain Stock Exchange.