India’s largest drug maker Sun
Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd has inked a pact with Switzerland based Novartis
AG to acquire the latter branded cancer drug Odomzo for an upfront payment of
$175 Million.
Under the agreement, Sun Pharma
will get global marketing rights for the product and Novartis will receive
certain additional milestone payments. Odomzo is a hedgehog pathway inhibitor
indicated for the treatment of advanced basal cell carcinoma (BCC) that recurs
following a surgery or a radiation therapy, or for patients who are not
candidates for surgery or radiation therapy.
Non-melanoma skin cancer is the
most common form of skin cancer globally. BCC accounts for approximately 80% of
non-melanoma skin cancers, accounting for over 2 million cases in the US alone.
BCC consists of abnormal, uncontrolled growths or lesions that arise in the
skin’s basal cells, which line the outermost layer of the skin.
Odomzo has marketing approval in
over 30 countries globally including the US, Europe and Australia. Odomzo was
approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in July 2015. Approximately,
70% of the prescribers are dermatologists and the rest are oncologists for this
class of drug. Sun Pharma is making significant investments, organically
as well as through acquisitions, to build a pipeline of branded products,
specialty drugs and complex generics to boost growth.
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