Tragara Pharmaceuticals, a privately held clinical oncology company developing new treatments for cancer, announced that China Oncology Focus Limited, an affiliate of Lee’s Pharmaceutical Holdings Limited (Lee’s Pharma), has licensed Tragara’s oral multi-kinase inhibitor, TG02. Lee’s Pharma has an operating history of over 20 years in China’s pharmaceutical industry.
Under the terms of the agreement, Lee’s Pharma received exclusive rights to develop and commercialize TG02 in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. In exchange, Tragara received an upfront cash payment and will receive potential future milestone payments and tiered royalties on future net sales. Lee’s Pharma will pay for the development, approval and commercialization of TG02 in its licensed territories. Lee’s Pharma will initially focus clinical development of TG02 in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. The two parties will share results and data.
In the United States, TG02 is currently in Phase 1b clinical testing in combination with carfilzomib in patients with multiple myeloma. Clinical proof-of-concept has been achieved in this study and Tragara continues to enroll additional patients to the study. Phase 1 studies in MYC-overexpressing solid tumors are in the planning phases.
Tragara also announced today that it recently closed a US$13 million Series C private financing. Lee’s Pharma participated in this financing along with existing investors including Domain Associates, Morgenthaler Ventures, ProQuest Investments and RusnanoMedInvest.
“We are honored to partner with Tragara to develop TG02 in the Greater China and South East Asia markets. I believe that TG02 could be an exciting alternative for many HCC patients,” said Dr. Li Xiaoyi, CEO and executive director of Lee’s Pharma. “With a PD-L1 monoclonal antibody, an oncolytic virus and a proprietary chemo agent under development, adding a targeted therapy agent will well position our Group in the oncology space, making in-house combination treatment possible.”
“We are very happy to partner with Lee’s Pharma in order to expand and accelerate TG02 development on a global basis. This partnership will not only explore the treatment of HCC with TG02, but will serve as a platform to establish clinical proof-of-concept in solid tumors that overexpress the MYC oncogene. Lee’s Pharma has a great track record and we look forward to our collaboration,” said Thomas M. Estok, president and CEO of Tragara.
