Bioniche Life Sciences Inc.and Endo Pharmaceuticals jointly announced today that Endo has licensed from Bioniche theexclusive rights to develop and market Urocidin(TM) in the U.S. with an optionfor global rights. Urocidin is a patented formulation of Mycobacterial CellWall-DNA Complex (MCC) developed by Bioniche for the treatment ofnon-muscle-invasive bladder cancer that is currently undergoing Phase IIIclinical testing. Under the agreement signed by both companies, Endo will pay Bioniche anup-front cash payment of $20M USD and the potential for up to $110M USD inadditional payments linked to the achievement of future clinical, regulatory,and commercial milestones. In addition, Bioniche will manufacture the productand receive a transfer price for supply. “We are excited about the opportunity to expand our portfolio in bladdercancer treatment and enhance our late stage development pipeline,” said DavidHolveck, president and chief executive officer of Endo Pharmaceuticals. “InAugust Endo plans to launch Valstar(TM), for the treatment of bladder cancer.If successful in clinical development, Urocidin has the potential to extendand enhance our recent therapeutic expansion and strengthen the Valstarfranchise.” Graeme McRae, Chairman, President & CEO of Bioniche, added, “EndoPharmaceuticals represents the optimal development and commercializationpartner for Bioniche, given its understanding of the bladder cancer market andbreadth of pharmaceutical industry experience. We look forward to advancingthe Urocidin development and commercialization program in collaboration withthe Endo team. Equally, we are very excited about the potential returns toBioniche and its shareholders following commercialization of Urocidin.”
