Dr Reddy's inks pact with Citius Pharma to sell rights to anti-cancer agent

The drug firm said it has entered into a definitive agreement with Citius to sell all of its rights to E7777 and certain related assets.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories on Saturday said it has inked a pact with US-based Citius Pharmaceuticals to sell its rights to an anti-cancer agent.

The drug firm said it has entered into a definitive agreement with Citius to sell all of its rights to E7777 (an engineered IL-2-diphtheria toxin fusion protein) and certain related assets.

Under the terms of agreement, Dr Reddy's will receive USD 40 million upfront upon the closing of the transaction, followed by approval milestone payment of up to USD 40 million related to the CTCL (cutaneous T-cell lymphoma) indication approval and up to USD 70 million for additional indication approvals, the Hyderabad-based drug maker said in a statement.

Further, the company would receive certain sales-based milestones and tiered earn-out payments, it added.

In March 2016, Dr Raddy's had acquired the exclusive global rights (excluding Japan and Asia) to the investigational anti-cancer agent E7777 from Eisai Co Ltd.

"Addressing unmet patient needs in oncology remains a prime focus area for us. E7777 has significant potential as an important component of systemic therapy for CTCL and other cancers. Post acquiring from Eisai, significant progress was made on the CTCL development front. We are confident of Citius' ability to realize the full potential of E7777 in the treatment of CTCL as well as in their ability to develop this promising drug for additional oncology and immuno-oncology indications," Dr Reddy's Laboratories CEO Erez Israeli stated.