Sunesis Pharmaceuticals Announces the Sale of its LFA-1 Inhibitor Program to SARcode Corporation
March 09 2009 - 8:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., March 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNSS) today announced that it
has sold to SARcode its intellectual property and other assets in
its LFA-1 inhibitor program previously licensed to SARcode for a
total cash consideration of $2 million. As a result of this sale,
Sunesis and SARcode have terminated an earlier license agreement
relating to this program, and Sunesis will forego future potential
milestone payments and royalties under this license agreement.
SARcode's lead product candidate, SAR1118, is a small molecule
LFA-1 inhibitor being developed for T-cell mediated ophthalmic
diseases. Under the original license agreement between the parties,
Sunesis granted SARcode an exclusive, worldwide license to patents
and know-how related to Sunesis' LFA-1 inhibitor program in
exchange for license fees, convertible notes, milestone payments as
well as potential royalty payments. Under this license agreement,
Sunesis has received milestone payments in the form of cash or
convertible notes for the selection of SAR1118 as a development
candidate, and for the initiation of a phase 1 trial of SAR1118.
Sunesis still holds a series of secured convertible notes issued by
SARcode having a total principal value of $1 million. "Consistent
with our strategy to focus our resources on advancing voreloxin,
our novel investigational anti-cancer drug candidate currently
being developed for acute myeloid leukemia and ovarian cancer, we
made the decision to monetize our milestone and royalty rights in
SARcode's LFA-1 program," said Daniel Swisher, Chief Executive
Officer of Sunesis. "We have been impressed with the progress of
SAR1118 to date and retain an interest in the future success of
this program through our convertible notes." About Sunesis
Pharmaceuticals Sunesis is a biopharmaceutical company focused on
the development and commercialization of new oncology therapeutics
for the treatment of solid and hematologic cancers. Sunesis has
built a highly experienced cancer drug development organization
committed to advancing its lead product candidate, voreloxin, in
multiple indications to improve the lives of people with cancer.
For additional information on Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, please visit
http://www.sunesis.com/. About SARcode SARcode is a privately-held
biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of best in
class small molecule LFA-1 antagonists as novel nonsteroidal
immunomodulators/anti-inflammatory agents for the treatment of
T-cell mediated inflammatory diseases. This press release contains
forward-looking statements including without limitation statements
related to planned additional clinical testing and development
efforts for Sunesis' voreloxin and SARcode's SAR1118 programs.
Words such as "advancing," "progress, ""future success,"
"potential" and similar expressions are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are
based upon Sunesis' current expectations. Forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties. Sunesis' and SARcode's
actual results and the timing of events could differ materially
from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a
result of these risks and uncertainties, which include, without
limitation, risks related to Sunesis' need for additional funding,
the risk that Sunesis' development activities for voreloxin,
including enrollment and reporting of results, or SARcode's
development activities for SAR1118 could be halted or significantly
delayed for various reasons; the risk that clinical trials may not
demonstrate safety or efficacy or lead to regulatory approval; the
risk that preliminary data and trends may not be predictive of
future data or results; the risk that preclinical studies and
clinical trials may not satisfy the requirements of the FDA or
other regulatory agencies; and risks related to the conduct of
clinical trials and manufacturing. These and other risk factors are
discussed under "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in Sunesis' Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, Sunesis'
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30,
2008, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Sunesis expressly disclaims any obligation or
undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any
forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change
in the company's expectations with regard thereto or any change in
events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements
are based. SUNESIS and the logo are trademarks of Sunesis
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Investor Contact: Sunesis Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. Eric Bjerkholt 650-266-3717 Media Contact: Sunesis
Pharmaceuticals Inc. Dan Weinseimer 650-266-3739 DATASOURCE:
Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. CONTACT: Investors - Eric Bjerkholt,
+1-650-266-3717, or Media - Dan Weinseimer, +1-650-266-3739, both
of Sunesis Pharmaceuticals Inc. Web Site: http://www.sunesis.com/
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