Medison Pharma (“Medison”), Israel's leading marketing group for innovative niche healthcare solutions, and Gen İlaç ve Sağlık Ürünleri (“Gen Ilac”), a leading supplier of orphan drugs for the treatment of rare diseases in Turkey, entered into license agreements with Apeiron, under the terms of which they receive the exclusive rights to market and sell APN311 in Israel and Turkey, respectively.
Today Apeiron announced the signing of license agreements with Medison and Gen Ilac. The two deals grant Medison and Gen Ilac exclusive rights to market and sell APN311 in Israel and Turkey, respectively. These transactions are part of Apeiron’s ongoing activities for worldwide commercialization of its immunotherapy portfolio against high-risk neuroblastoma. APN311 is the most advanced biologic in Apeiron's development pipeline that focuses on immunologic therapies of cancer. Further details or financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Hans Loibner, PhD, CEO of Apeiron, commented, "Based on very positive clinical data and the advanced development status of APN311 we are actively engaged in discussions with potential partners around the world for commercialization of this immunotherapy. After a first agreement with Paladin Labs we are pleased to now close these two deals with Medison and Gen Ilac. This represents a further important step in Apeiron’s efforts and commitment to improve therapeutic options for children suffering from life-threatening high-risk neuroblastoma."
Meir Jakobsohn, Medison's Founder & CEO, commented, "We are proud of the new agreement with Apeiron that reflects Medison’s continuous ambition to provide breakthrough and lifesaving treatments for today's most urgent medical needs. One of Medison’s main focuses is providing medications in the field of pediatric oncology, in niches with unmet need. Apeiron’s treatment fits exactly to Medison’s mission.”
Abidin Gülmüs, CEO of Gen Ilac, added, “We are proud of our reputation as one of Turkey’s leading specialty pharma companies, but even more important to us is the difference we make to the lives of people with life-threatening conditions. We look forward to a successful partnership with Apeiron, together providing oncologists with the opportunity to treat high-risk neuroblastoma patients. We aspire to make APN311 available for Turkish patients as soon as possible.”
About Neuroblastoma and APN311
Neuroblastoma is the most common extracranial solid cancer in infants and children with 50% of all cases being diagnosed within the first year after birth.
APN311 is a monoclonal chimeric antibody (ch14.18/CHO) targeting the GD2 antigen on neuroblastoma cells and is currently in preparation for submission for marketing authorization.
About APEIRON Biologics AG (as of January 2014)
Apeiron is a mainly privately financed biotech company based in Vienna, Austria, developing immunologic and biologic therapies against cancer. Its portfolio consists of five clinical projects and some preclinical approaches. Its lead project, APN311, is currently being investigated in high-risk neuroblastoma, together with the internationally active SIOPEN study group, with more than 600 patients having received treatment to date. Apeiron’s project APN301 is an anti-GD2 antibody-IL2 fusion protein which is currently in a phase II trial in the US and Canada in neuroblastoma and in a separate trial in melanoma. The recombinant human Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (GSK2586881, formerly APN01) was developed by Apeiron until end of Phase I, licensed to GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in 2010 and is presently being investigated by GSK in an ongoing phase II study in Acute Lung Injury. Furthermore, a program is ongoing to develop therapies to selectively boost the immune system to efficiently combat cancer (APN401: individualized cellular therapy; APN411: low molecular weight compound, in collaboration with Evotec). APN201 (human Superoxide Dismutase) is pursued to cope with oxidative stress and associated inflammation.
Apeiron was supported by Dechert, Eisei GmbH and JSB Partners in this transaction.
www.apeiron-biologics.com
About Medison Pharma
Medison is Israel’s leading marketing group, representing innovative niche healthcare products from companies such as Biogen, Amgen, Shire and Ipsen. Medison strives to deliver the most innovative healthcare solutions to patients. The company operates according to a comprehensive approach to marketing and service, and maintains long-standing relations with HMOs (Health Maintenance Organizations), local medical centers and physicians. Backed by three generations of experience in the healthcare industry since 1937, Medison is uniquely qualified to provide the complete spectrum of integrated services for international companies looking to enter into or expand their presence in the Israeli & Romanian healthcare markets.
Medison has offices and is active in Israel and Romania.
www.medison.co.il
About Gen Ilac
Gen Ilac is a leading specialty pharmaceutical company headquartered in Ankara, Turkey, and represents innovative pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, serving the medical community and patients in specific therapeutic areas of Neurology, Oncology, Hematology, Endocrinology and Nephrology. The company has long term collaborations with a number of international companies including Biogen Idec, Ipsen, Onyx, Gentium and many others. Gen Ilac is taking a leading role in Turkey bringing novel treatment options to patients with difficult to treat or rare conditions.
www.genilac.com.tr