Aug 6 2009
Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NasdaqGM:SPPI), a commercial-stage biotechnology company with a focus in oncology, today announced that it has acquired 100% rights to RenaZorb® (a family of compounds represented by SPI-014, also known as RZB-014), a lanthanum-based nanotechnology compound with potent and selective phosphate binding properties, for all human and non-human indications.
“While focused on the oncology field, we remain opportunistic with our other value-driving assets such as RenaZorb, a drug candidate with the potential to reduce dosage burden for chronic kidney disease patients and enable more effective management of their disease,” said Rajesh C. Shrotriya, MD, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals. “Having full rights to this selective and potent nanotechnology-based drug candidate will facilitate our development and partnering strategy for this asset.”
In 2005, the Company acquired the worldwide license to develop RenaZorb for all human therapeutic uses from Altair Nanotechnologies. Today’s acquisition includes all uses and thus provides full rights, and intellectual property, for the asset. In consideration for the license, Spectrum will pay to Altair a total of $750,000 in restricted common stock.
“Given the importance of effectively controlling serum phosphate levels for patients with chronic kidney disease, there has been significant recent activity to extend the use of phosphate binding medications to a wider proportion of the 26 million Americans currently suffering with CKD,” said Amar Singh, Chief Commercial Officer. “Given this activity, and the limitations of existing phosphate binding medications, the market opportunity for new safe and effective phosphate binding medications has significantly increased not only in the U.S. but in other major pharmaceutical markets such as Europe, China, and Japan. Having full title to this asset allows us to maximize the value of this opportunity.”