Cempra Reaches $10M Milestone In Antibiotic Deal
Clinical stage pharmaceutical firm Cempra announced that it has received $10 million in milestone payments from Toyama Chemical. The payment was triggered by Toyama’s receipt of regulatory clearance in Japan to begin the Phase 2 trial for its collaborator Cempra’s antibiotic solithromycin.
Solithromycin is a next-generation macrolide antibiotic that belongs to the same class as erythromycin. It has demonstrated antibacterial activity against pneumococci and Mycoplasma pneumoniae strains that are resistant to older macrolide antibiotics, like azithromycin. Cempra has raised over $100 million for the development of solithromycin and expects to bring the drug to hit the market by 2016.
Toyama has acquired exclusive rights for the development and marketing of solithromycin in Japan for respiratory tract infections as well as other indications in both adults and pediatric patients. The company has paid an initial $10 million upfront fee to Cempra, which is also eligible to receive up to $60 million in milestone payments upon the achievement of pre-specified goals. Cempra will also receive royalties upon the commercial launch of solithromycin in Japan, currently the second largest market for antibiotics in the world with an estimated $4 billion in annual sales.
Dr. Prabhavathi Fernandes, CEO of Cempra said, “We are very pleased with our partner, Toyama Chemical Company… and have benefited from frequent information and data exchange because of Toyama's strong antibiotic drug development experience. This milestone payment illustrates the progress Toyama is making toward bringing this important and needed antibiotic option to patients in Japan. We look forward to their continued progress in their clinical program which will complement our own.”
Cempra is also testing the antibiotic for certain strains of gonorrhea and chlamydia. In August, the company announced the start of the Phase 3 trial Solitaire-U in Australia and the U.S. which will investigate a single 1000 mg dose of oral solithromycin in patients with chlamydia and uncomplicated Neisseria gonorrhea infections.