Deal Worth Up to $464m Advances MEI Drug, Diversifies Helsinn's Portfolio

Aug 08 2016

• By Mandy Jackson

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Helsinn will help MEI Pharma advance its HDAC inhibitor pracinostat into Phase III development via a partnership worth up to $464m.

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With $20m and research funding from Helsinn Group plus $444m in future milestone fees, a roughly 500-patient Phase III clinical trial will kick off during the first quarter of 2017 to test MEI Pharma Inc.'s lead drug candidate pracinostat in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). San Diego-based MEI Pharma also will conduct a trial seeking the right dosing schedule for people with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).

Pracinostat failed to benefit most MDS patients in a mid-stage study in 2015, but the oral histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor...

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