Thursday, June 20, 2024
Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd., Allschwil (SIX: BSLN), a biopharmaceutical company with marketed products dedicated to helping patients suffering from severe bacterial or fungal infections, today announced that it has entered into an asset purchase agreement to sell its oncology drug candidate lisavanbulin (BAL101553) to the Glioblastoma Foundation Inc. Lisavanbulin was developed as a potential therapy for glioblastoma, the most common type of primary brain tumor. 1
Dr. Marc Engelhardt, Chief Medical Officer of Basilea, said: "Glioblastoma is one of the deadliest types of brain tumors and the available therapeutic options are very limited. The lisavanbulin agreement with the Glioblastoma Foundation is an important step for us to continue to provide patients with access to this promising cancer medicine, now that Basilea has shifted its strategic focus to anti-infectives."
Dr. Gita Kwatra, Chief Executive Officer of the Glioblastoma Foundation, said: "We are pleased to partner with Basilea and to undertake the development of lisavanbulin for glioblastoma patients. Lisavanbulin has demonstrated excellent activity against glioblastoma in preclinical PDX models, as well as efficacy in Phase 1 and Phase 2 studies. We strongly believe that lisavanbulin will be effective in a subset of glioblastoma patients and we look forward to initiating clinical trials with lisavanbulin in the US."
Under the terms of the agreement, Basilea will sell and transfer all rights to lisavanbulin to the Glioblastoma Foundation for an undisclosed initial purchase price. In addition, Basilea will receive a fixed double-digit percentage of future revenues from potential commercial partnerships. The Glioblastoma Foundation will continue the post-trial access program for patients from previous clinical trials to continue receiving lisavanbulin. In addition, the Glioblastoma Foundation will continue to investigate the therapeutic benefits of lisavanbulin for the treatment of glioblastoma.
About Lisavanbulin (BAL101553)
Lisavanbulin (BAL101553, the prodrug of the active ingredient BAL27862) 2 has been investigated in Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials for the potential treatment of glioblastoma. 3 , 4 , 5 In preclinical studies, lisavanbulin demonstrated in vitro and in vivo efficacy in various treatment-resistant cancer models, including tumors that did not respond to conventional drugs and radiotherapy. 6 , 7 , 8
Lisavanbulin distributes efficiently in brain tissue and showed anticancer activity in glioblastoma models. 9 , 10 The active substance BAL27862 binds to the colchicine binding site of tubulin, which has specific effects on the arrangement of microtubules. 11 This leads to the activation of the so-called “ spindle assembly checkpoint ”, which promotes the death of tumor cells. 12 Lisavanbulin has received orphan drug designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of malignant gliomas (brain tumors), including glioblastomas.
About the Glioblastoma Foundation
The Glioblastoma Foundation, based in Durham, North Carolina (USA), is committed to changing the standard of care for glioblastoma (brain tumors) and supports the development of new drugs and therapies in this field. Because every glioblastoma is different, there is probably no single drug that works for all patients. Therefore, therapies for glioblastoma must be individually tailored. The Glioblastoma Foundation supports the development of such targeted therapies against glioblastoma. The organization also offers support for patients and raises awareness of glioblastoma. For more information, visit glioblastomafoundation.org .
About Basilea
Basilea is a biopharmaceutical company founded in 2000 with headquarters in Switzerland and marketed products. Our goal is to discover, develop and commercialize innovative medicines to help patients suffering from serious bacterial or fungal infections. We have successfully launched two hospital-based medicines, Cresemba and Zevtera: Cresemba for the treatment of invasive fungal infections and Zevtera for the treatment of bacterial infections. We also have a portfolio of preclinical and clinical anti-infective programs. Basilea is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ticker symbol SIX: BSLN). Please visit our website basilea.com .
Exclusion clause
This communication explicitly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements such as "believe", "anticipate", "expect", "forecast", "plan", "may", "could", "will" or similar expressions concerning Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd., Allschwil and its business activities, including with respect to the progress, timing and completion of research and development and clinical trials of product candidates. Such statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd., Allschwil to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements. This communication is dated today. Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd., Allschwil assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements in the event of new information, future events or otherwise.
For further information please contact:
Peer Nils Schröder, PhD
Head of Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
Basilea Pharmaceutica International AG, Allschwil
Hegenheimermattweg 167b
4123 Allschwil
Switzerland
Telephone +41 61 606 1102
Email [email protected]
[email protected]
Source: globenewswire.com
