Anacor Announces Second Development Candidate in Animal Health Under Research Collaboration With Eli Lilly and Company
<0> Anacor PharmaceuticalsDeDe Sheel, 650-543-7575Investor Relations and Corporate Communications </0>
Anacor Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ANAC) announced today that it has achieved its second development candidate in its animal health collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly). Anacor’s research collaboration with Lilly is focused on the use of Anacor’s boron chemistry to discover products for a variety of animal health applications. Under the terms of the collaboration, Anacor will receive a $1 million payment for achieving this milestone. Anacor and Lilly achieved the first development candidate under this collaboration in August 2011.
“Our collaboration with Lilly has proven to be very productive, resulting in two animal health development candidates in just over two years,” said David Perry, Chief Executive Officer of Anacor Pharmaceuticals. “Both of these product candidates are focused on large market opportunities that could result in a significant economic return for Anacor if these therapies are approved.”
Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, Lilly has funded the research that resulted in this compound and will be responsible for future development and commercialization. Anacor is eligible to receive additional development and regulatory milestones as well as tiered royalties from the high single digits to low double digits on future sales.
Anacor is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing novel small-molecule therapeutics derived from its boron chemistry platform. Anacor has discovered eight compounds that are currently in development. Its two lead product candidates are topically administered dermatologic compounds — tavaborole, a topical antifungal for the treatment of onychomycosis, and AN2728, a topical anti-inflammatory PDE-4 inhibitor for the treatment of atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. In addition to its two lead programs, Anacor has discovered three other clinical product candidates — AN2718 and AN2898, which are backup compounds to tavaborole and AN2728, respectively, and AN3365 (formerly known as GSK2251052, or GSK ‘052), a systemic antibiotic for the treatment of infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria, which previously was licensed to GlaxoSmithKline LLC, or GSK. GSK will be returning all rights to the compound to us and we are considering our options for further development, if any, of this compound. We have discovered three other compounds that we have out-licensed for further development — two compounds for the treatment of animal health indications that are licensed to Eli Lilly and Company, or Lilly, and AN5568, also referred to as SCYX-7158, for human African trypanosomiasis (HAT, or sleeping sickness), which is licensed to Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, or DNDi. We also have a pipeline of other internally discovered topical and systemic boron-based compounds in development. For more information, visit .
This press release contains forward-looking statements that relate to future events including the development and commercialization of a compound in animal health and our collaboration with Lilly. These forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause timing, actual levels of activity, performance or achievement to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including risks related to enrollment and successful completion of our trials, risk of unforeseen side effects and risks related to regulatory approval of new drug candidates. These statements reflect the views of Anacor as of the date of this press release with respect to future events and, except as required by law, it undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date of this press release.