Tekmira Pharmaceuticals this week announced that Talon Therapeutics, which licensed certain of the company’s legacy, non-RNAi drug candidates, will be acquired by Spectrum Pharmaceuticals.
According to Tekmira, Spectrum has stated that it intends to launch one of those drugs, the liposome-formulated chemotherapeutic Marqibo, later this year through its own sales force. Tekmira received a $1 million milestone payment last year from Talon related to the US Food and Drug Administration approval of Marqibo, and stands to receive royalties from Spectrum on the product’s sales.
"The future sales of Marqibo represent a recurring revenue stream for Tekmira,” Tekmira President and CEO Mark Murray said in a statement.
Through its acquisition of Talon, Spectrum has also picked up two other drug candidates, one in phase I testing and one still preclinical, for which Tekmira is eligible for milestones and royalties.