Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Synta sees $25M milestone from GlaxoSmithKline for skin cancer drug

By Mass High Tech Staff

Biopharmaceutical company Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. has won a $25 million milestone payment from its partner GlaxoSmithKline for the development and commercialization of its skin cancer drug elesclomol.

The drug is currently in Phase 3 trials for treating metastatic melanoma, and Synta (Nasdaq: SNTA) could earn another $25 million milestone payment prior to completion of enrollment of the trial. An additional $25 million milestone payment could be triggered at the end of the trial if it meets the primary endpoint goals, or if Synta and GSK agree to file for regulatory approval, officials said.

The original collaboration agreement, established in October 2007, calls for GSK to pay up to $585 million to Synta in development and regulatory milestone payments, with $145 million related to melanoma and $440 million for other cancer indications.

In January, Synta and GSK were granted “orphan” drug incentives from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for elesclomol. The orphan status provides the firms with seven years of market exclusivity if the drug is approved. It also gives the companies tax credits and a reduction in FDA user fees, according to the firms. Orphan status is granted for treatments that treat diseases found in 200,000 or fewer Americans.

Synta is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing chemical-based or small molecule drugs for cancer and other diseases. The company reported a 2007 net loss of $63.5 million on revenue of $740,000.