Dr Reddy’s, Eisai in licensing pact for anti-cancer agent

Hyderabad: City-based drug major Dr Reddy's Laboratories has entered into a licensing agreement with Japan’s Eisai Co Ltd for exclusive worldwide development and commercialisation rights, excluding Japan and Asia, for the latter’s investigational anticancer agent E7777.

This deal comes close on the heels of Dr Reddy’s announcing on Monday a similar, Rs 3,260-crore deal with US-based XenoPort for a clinical stage oral new chemical entity, XP23829, a potential treatment for moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis and also a potential treatment for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Under the agreement, Eisai will be responsible for the development and marketing of E7777 in Japan and Asia, while Dr Reddy’s also holds the option for rights to develop and market the agent in India.

In exchange of these rights, Eisai will receive milestone payments in line with obtaining marketing approval and the achievement of agreed upon sales targets. Through this agreement, the two companies aim to accelerate development and maximize the value of anticancer agent. However, Dr Reddy’s did not announce payment commitments for this latest agreement.

“The collaboration between DRL and Eisai is a tremendous win-win. The anticancer agent has significant potential as an important component of systemic therapy for CTCL (cutaneous T-cell lymphoma). This therapy represents an extension of our current efforts in the dermatology space to an important segment of skin-related cancers,” said Raghav Chari, Executive Vice President, Proprietary Products Group, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories.
Terushige, Chief Product Creation Officer of Eisai Product Creation Systems, said that this agreement would align with Eisai's drive to contribute to patients in its focused field of oncology as quickly as possible.

“Eisai and Dr Reddy's will conduct development in their respective territories, and by working to accelerate and maximize contribution to patients, we hope to launch treatments that will fulfill the diverse needs of, and bring about benefits for, patients with cancer and their families," he said.

E7777 is a fusion protein that combines the interleukin-2 (IL-2) receptor binding domain with diphtheria toxin fragments. The agent specifically binds to IL-2 receptors on the cell surface, causing diphtheria toxins that have entered cells to inhibit protein synthesis. A Phase II clinical study of the agent in patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma or peripheral T-cell lymphoma is currently underway in Japan.