Mayne Pharma completes cancer product acquisition

Mayne Pharma, the Australian pharmaceuticals group, has said it has completed the acquisition of rights for Nipent and SurfaceSafe, two oncology products developed by SuperGen, an American pharmaceutical discovery company.

Nipent is a treatment for hairy-cell leukaemia comprising an injectable form of pentostatin. SurfaceSafe is a towel system used to decontaminate surfaces where chemotherapy treatment is prepared.

Mayne Pharma’s chief executive officer and managing director, Dr Thierry Soursac, said that the deal represented a part of its strategy to acquire a range of niche-marketed or close-to-market products.

He stated: “The addition of Nipent, therefore, fits our strategy perfectly, building on our core oncology capability, particularly in the important US market.”

“In addition, since Nipent is a proprietary product, this transaction will raise Mayne Pharma’s profile with key customers and opinion leaders, further strengthening our position,” Dr Soursac added.

Under the terms of the agreement, Mayne will pay SuperGen $14 million (7.4 million pounds) up front, with the potential total payment reaching $34 million.

Mayne has said it is in discussions with SuperGen to in-license mitomycin, a cytotoxic cancer therapy, as well as acquiring the rights to SuperGen’s products outside the US.

According to BC Cancer Agency, Pentostatin was first derived in 1974 from a soil organism, Streptomyces antibioticus. The compound was put into accelerated development after it was observed that it had the unexpected ability to shrink tumours.

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