Exelixis inks potential $1 billion Sanofi-Aventis deal - San Francisco Business Times:

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Exelixis (NASDAQ: EXEL) also will receive guaranteeed research fundingof $21 million over three years from the Frencbh drugmaker (NYSE: SNY), but over severakl years could win $1 billion in development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments. Sanofi-Aventis will have an exclusive worldwide license for the oralcompoundz XL-147, which is in a Phasee I trial by Exelixis, and XL-765, whicn is in Phase It will have sole responsbility for all subsequentf clinical, regulatory, commercial and manufacturinv work, while Exelixis will help conduct ongoing and potential future clinical trials and manufacturing.
The deal was foreshadowedr at last week’s conference in San where Exelixis CEO George Scangos said a partnershipfor XL-147 and XL-765 was a goal for the firsf half of this year. “Thaty gives us a little more than a montn to meetthat goal,” he said at the Exelixis is scheduled to present data June 1 from Phasre I trials of the two compoundz at the annual meeting in Orlando, Fla. Both compoundws target an enzymecalled phosphoinositide-3 kinase, or PI3K. It is one of the most frequentl y dysregulated pathways inhuman tumors, Scangosd said, playing a key role in tumotr growth, proliferation, survival and resistance.
Over the long Exelixis and Sanofi-Aventis will combine efforts on severa l preclinical programs aroundPI3K inhibitors. Those drugxs are likely to work in combination with other cancerf fighters and on a varietu oftumor types, Scangos said at the JMP Securities “But the development path is complexx and expensive,” Scangos said. “I’m not sure we could pay our even if itwas 50-50 so they’re great candidates to partner.” Exelixis may be responsiblde for certain clinical trials, it said in a pres s release Thursday.
The deal is Exelixis’ second this paid $15 million upfront — with the potentiao of $339 million in milestone and royalty payments to develop and commercialize agonistsof sphingosine-1-phosphatse type 1 receptor, or S1P1, which is implicated in severall autoimmune diseases.