Novelos Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapeutics to treat cancer and hepatitis, today announced that velos signed an exclusive license agreement with Lee's Pharmaceutical to develop and commercialize in China, including Hong Kong and Macau, as well as in Taiwan, two of Novelos' compounds: NOV-002 for cancer and NOV-205 for hepatitis. NOV-002 is Novelos' lead compound in pivotal Phase 3 trial for non-small cell lung cancer under a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) and Fast Track.
Lee's Pharmaceutical will be responsible for the cost of all clinical development, regulatory submissions and commercialization of NOV-002 and NOV-205 in China. In addition to upfront and milestone payments, Novelos will receive 20-25% royalties from Lee's Pharm on net sales of NOV-002 and 12-15% royalties on net sales of NOV-205.
"I am very pleased to be collaborating with Lee's Pharm, a vibrant public company that has a proven track record of developmental and commercialization expertise in China," said Harry Palmin, President and CEO of Novelos. "The significant royalties allow Novelos greater participation in China's rapidly growing marketplace, particularly in critical disease areas of cancer and hepatitis. This deal also marks the commencement of Novelos' ex-US partnering initiative."
"We are excited about the opportunity to work with Novelos on its two exciting compounds NOV-002 and NOV-205," said Dr. Benjamin Li, CEO of Lee's Pharm. "With over 1.7 million people being diagnosed with cancer each year and over 120 million people being infected with hepatitis B virus, both cancer and hepatitis B are major health problems facing China today. Better treatment options are badly needed in those areas and the market potential for innovative and effective treatment will be enormous."
Lee's Pharmaceutical Holdings Limited is a Hong Kong listed biopharmaceutical company with focuses on several different areas such as cardiovascular and infectious diseases, dermatology, oncology and gynecology with more than 10 products under different development stages stemming from both internal R&D as well as from the recent acquisition of licensing and distribution rights from various US and European companies.