Wyeth, Trubion to collaborate on inflammatory disease, cancer drugs in deal worth up to $800 million

By E. Janene Geiss

Philadelphia, Jan. 3 - Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and Trubion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced Tuesday the formation of a strategic alliance for the development and commercialization of new biopharmaceutical products to treat inflammatory disease and cancer.

The alliance will utilize Trubion's proprietary Small Modular Immunopharmaceutical (SMIP) technology, according to a company news release.

The companies also said they plan to collaborate on development and commercialization of CD20-targeted therapies including TRU-015, a novel SMIP compound currently in phase 2 clinical development for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

As part of the transaction, Trubion received an initial $40 million payment, officials said.

Trubion said it will retain an option to co-promote CD20-targeted therapies in the United States for certain indications.

Wyeth said it will be responsible for future development and commercialization costs for the alliance.

The agreement also provides for additional payments to Trubion upon the achievement of certain development milestones, royalties on product sales and a stock purchase when Trubion makes a qualified initial public offering.

If all milestones are achieved, the total payments to Trubion could exceed $800 million, excluding royalties and co-promotion fees, officials said.

"Wyeth is excited about the development of TRU-015 for [rheumatoid arthritis] as well as the potential application of TRU-015 in other chronic inflammatory and B-cell mediated diseases," Robert R. Ruffolo, president of Wyeth research and development and senior vice president, said in the release.

Trubion and Wyeth also will collaborate on a multi-target discovery program focused on the development of certain other biopharmaceutical products for major indications with unmet medical needs, officials said.

Wyeth said it will receive worldwide rights to CD20-targeted SMIPs as will as SMIP product candidates from the discovery program.

TRU-015 is designed to deplete B cells - a new therapeutic strategy for B-cell mediated autoimmune and inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and also a promising strategy for certain cancers with malignant B cells, officials said.

SMIPs represent a novel class of immunotherapeutics with enhanced drug properties over monoclonal and recombinant antibodies. SMIPs are smaller than antibodies and can reach sites unavailable to larger molecules while exhibiting selective binding and long in vivo half-lives, which means the medicine is metabolized more slowly by the body suggesting less frequent dosing will be needed, officials said, adding that the compounds can be expressed in mammalian cells and customized for many disease targets.

Wyeth, based in Madison, N.J., is one of the world's largest research-driven pharmaceutical and health care products companies that develops, manufactures and markets pharmaceuticals, vaccines, biotechnology products and nonprescription medicines.

Trubion is a Seattle biopharmaceutical company focused on development and commercialization of new medicines to treat inflammatory disease and cancer.

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