AsianScientist (Jul. 15, 2013) – US-based Soligenix, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing products to treat inflammatory diseases, announced a personalized medicine collaboration with US-based, China-focused SciClone Pharmaceuticals on its oral mucositis (OM) drug candidate, SGX942.
As part of this collaboration, Soligenix will receive access to SciClone’s OM clinical and regulatory data library in exchange for commercialization rights in the People’s Republic of China, including Hong Kong and Macau. Specific deal terms have not been disclosed at this time.
Soligenix is developing SGX942, an innate defense regulator, for the treatment of OM. It is a new class of short, synthetic peptides that has a novel mechanism of action in that it has simultaneous anti-inflammatory and anti-infective activity.
OM in solid tumor patients, especially those with head and neck cancer, is an area of unmet medical need, with no approved drug therapy. It is estimated that OM affects approximately 90,000 head and neck cancer patients per year in the US. SGX942 recently received investigational new drug (IND) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is poised to start a Phase II clinical trial by the end of the year.
“Our collaboration with SciClone is an ideal match. SciClone has a significant commercial presence and expertise in China, and their clinical and regulatory contribution to the SGX942 OM program has the potential to accelerate development while dramatically improving clinical response,” said Christopher J. Schaber, PhD, President and CEO of Soligenix.
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Source: Soligenix, Inc.
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