Poniard strikes deal to raise $60M for chemo development

With a next-gen platinum chemotherapy in late-stage tests, South San Francisco-based Poniard Pharmaceuticals struck a deal to sell up to $60 million in company stock to an investor. Much of the money that Poniard raises from the sale of shares to Azimuth Opportunity over the next 18 months will go to further development of picoplatin, the acquisition of new products and general uses.

Poniard has high hopes for significant partnership deals for picoplatin, which is in a Phase III trial for small cell lung cancer and Phase II trials in metastatic colorectal and castration-resistant prostate cancers.

"This equity line provides us with an important addition to our financing options," said Greg Weaver, Poniard's senior vice president and chief financial officer. "The facility has a competitive cost of capital, no warrants and flexible structure and should further strengthen our position as we negotiate with potential global partners for our late-stage differentiated platinum-based chemotherapy agent, picoplatin."

- check out the Poniard release

ALSO: Seattle-based Cell Therapeutics has inked a deal to sell $30 million in shares to a single institutional investor. Just last June the developer announced that a late-stage study of pixantrone demonstrated its ability to significantly increase the remission rates of patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The company says that an approval could come by the end of this year. Release

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