Aveo and Astellas part ways
pharmafile | February 17, 2014 | News story | Sales and Marketing | Astellas, Aveo, Boehringer, EMA, tivozanib
Aveo Oncology and Astellas Pharma are to abandon their three-year old collaboration and licence agreement for investigational tyrosine kinase inhibitor tivozanib.
Designed to inhibit all three vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptors, the drug has disappointed in trials in kidney and breast cancer – and the end of their relationship comes as the ongoing Phase II BATON programme in patients with colorectal cancer has also been stopped, the companies announced.
Data from this had been expected before the early part of next year – a Phase II breast cancer trial with the drug was cut off last month because of problems with enrolment.
Tokyo-based Astellas will hand back the rights to develop and commercialise tivozanib to Aveo on 11 August “for strategic reasons, based on the clinical status of the three indications studied”, with expenses shared equally between them.
In 2011 Aveo received $125 million up front from Astellas, with the potential for another $1.3 billion in milestone payments for the deal – but those hopes have crumbled.
“We would like to thank Astellas for its commitment to tivozanib and our partnership over the past three years,” said Tuan Ha-Ngoc, Aveo president and chief executive.
“Given today’s announcements, we are realigning our resources behind key development opportunities to bring clinically meaningful treatments to patients and create shareholder value,” he went on.
The Massachusetts-based biotech firm is going to flesh out its corporate strategy when it reports its 2013 results.
“While our decision is based on strategic reasons, Astellas is proud of our partnership and work with Aveo,” said Yoshihiko Hatanaka, president and chief executive of Astellas. “We remain committed to the field of oncology to help meet the unmet needs of cancer patients.”
In June last year Aveo admitted it would have to make major job cuts after news that a kidney cancer licence for tivozanib will most likely not be granted FDA approval. The company said it would be cutting around 140 jobs – or 64% of its total workforce.
An FDA advisory panel said in May that an additional clinical trial would be needed before tivozanib could be approved for treating renal cell carcinoma.
A Phase III trial showed that tivozanib failed to increase survival against its main rival treatment Nexavar, made by Bayer and Onyx Pharmaceuticals.
The company said then that tivozanib would not be introduced in Europe for kidney cancer, after Astellas said it would not be filing the drug with the EMA.
Cutting staff costs had been expected to help Aveo with other products in its portfolio, which includes the Phase I trial of AV-203 for a number of solid tumours, and ficlatuzumab for certain types of lung cancer, which is being developed with Boehringer.
Adam Hill
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