Cytogen sells ownership in joint venture to Progenics in deal valued at $65 million

By E. Janene Geiss

Philadelphia, April 24 - Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced Monday that it has acquired complete ownership and control of PSMA Development Co. LLC, by purchasing Cytogen Corp.'s interest in the joint venture, which is developing in vivo cancer immunotherapies based on prostate-specific membrane antigen.

Progenics purchased Cytogen's 50% interest in the company for an upfront payment of $13.2 million in cash, plus potential future milestone payments totaling up to $52 million payable upon regulatory approval and commercialization, and an undisclosed royalty on future product sales, according to a company news release.

The technologies acquired in this purchase include those originating from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the institution that first discovered PSMA, as well as those developed by the development company. The purchase encompasses the PSMA antibody-drug conjugate and two vaccine products in development by the joint venture, officials said.

The PSMA-based vaccines are in development to prevent the recurrence of prostate cancer after initial surgery or radiation therapy. The company is planning human testing of a viral-vector vaccine. Phase 1 clinical studies of a recombinant-soluble PSMA vaccine have shown that certain prostate cancer patients produced anti-PSMA antibodies in response to the vaccine. Progenics' research department is optimizing the vaccine before advancing this product candidate into phase 2 clinical testing, officials said.

Cytogen said it will no longer be responsible for funding the company. In 2005, Cytogen's share of the loss associated with the company was $3.18 million.

PSMA is a protein primarily found on the surface of prostate cancer cells and new blood vessels associated with other solid tumors. Targeting PSMA offers the potential for highly specific cancer therapy, officials said.

Cytogen officials said it retains full and exclusive rights to develop its CYT-500 radiolabeled antibody program. In April, Cytogen submitted an Investigational New Drug application to the Food and Drug Administration for CYT- 500, the company's lead therapeutic candidate targeting PSMA.

Subject to FDA acceptance and Institutional Review Board approval at the planned clinical site, Cytogen said it expects to begin the first U.S. phase 1 clinical trial of CYT-500 in patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer.

CYT-500 incorporates the same monoclonal antibody used in Cytogen's Prostascint (capromab pendetide) molecular imaging agent but is linked to a therapeutic as opposed to an imaging payload. This new product candidate is designed to enable targeted delivery of a cytotoxic agent to PSMA-expressing cells.

Cytogen is a Princeton, N.J., biopharmaceutical company with a focus on developing cancer therapeutics.

Progenics is a Tarrytown, N.Y., biopharmaceutical company focused on development and commercialization of therapeutic products.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.