Print“One of our key strategic initiatives is to find partners within those regions that can bring local expertise and local value-add to the table. ”
Sequella has granted Russia’s Maxwell Biotech Venture Fund an exclusive license to its lead experimental antibiotic for the treatment of tuberculosis in the Russian Federation and neighboring Commonwealth of Independent States countries. The small Rockville, Maryland-based biotech says its first licensing deal could be worth up to $50 million to the company over the duration of the license.
Sequella will get an equity investment, clinical trial supply purchase, milestones, and royalty payments that, contingent upon successful development and commercialization, could be worth up to $50 million over the duration of the license. Maxwell will assume all responsibility for further clinical development and regulatory approval in Russia and neighboring CIS countries including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belorussia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine, while Sequella retains rights in the United States and the rest of the world. The Russian government holds a minority stake in the privately-owned venture firm.
Tuberculosis is an epidemic in Russia, according to the World Health Organization, with more than 150,000 cases of active TB reported each year and over 43,000 cases of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. In some parts of the country, infection rates are more than three times what the WHO considers epidemic, making TB control a top priority of the Russian government.
“One of our key strategic initiatives is to find partners within those regions (Russia, China, India) that can bring local expertise and local value-add to the table in order to be as effective as a company can be in getting these products registered and successfully commercialized,” says Alan Klein, Sequella’s executive vice president for corporate development.
Klein says Maxwell is an ideal partner in Russia because they know the country and surrounding territories from a financial perspective well.
Sequella’s lead compound, SQ109, has been shown to be active against both drug susceptible and drug-resistant TB bacteria in mid-stage efficacy trials in Africa. Sequella says the Russian market for anti-tubercular drugs is more than $150 million per year, with total TB control costs estimated to be well over $1 billion.
Maxwell will fund a subsidiary called Infectex, a new biopharmaceutical company that will house Sequella’s compound and other assets Maxwell plans to bring in. Klein says SQ109 will be Infectex’s flagship product.
April 27, 2011
http://www.burrillreport.com/article-answering_an_epidemic_in_russia.html
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