Sunshine Biopharma said it has acquired for about $12.8 million all ex-U.S. patents related to its lead anticancer compound from Advanomics.
Sunshine previously owned only the U.S. patent for Adva-27a, a small molecule Topoisomerase II inhibitor now in preclinical development.
According to Sunshine, Adva-27a has been shown to be effective at killing cells of several cancers—including pancreatic cancer, multidrug resistant breast cancer, small-cell lung cancer, and uterine sarcoma.
Sunshine plans to advance Adva-27a into parallel Phase I clinical trials for pancreatic cancer and multidrug resistant breast cancer. The studies will be conducted at McGill University's Jewish General Hospital in Montreal.
“We believe that the terms of the patent acquisitions are fair and reasonable and will result in a greater opportunity for Sunshine to obtain the funding necessary to complete the approval process of the FDA for Adva-27a,” Sunshine stated in a Form 8-K regulatory filing submitted yesterday to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company acquired U.S. patent 8,236,935 for Adva-27a in October for a total $4.32 million—12 consecutive annual payments of $360,000—from Advanomics, which at the time owned approximately 23% of Sunshine's issued and outstanding common stock. Sunshine had licensed the U.S. patent from Advanomics for an annual fee of $360,000, plus reimbursement of Advanomics’ R&D expenses, under an agreement that was ended once the U.S. patent changed hands.
In the latest transaction, disclosed yesterday, Sunshine agreed to pay $12,822,499 for remaining rights, title and interest in and to all worldwide patents for Adva-27a (Patent Numbers PCT/FR2007/000697 and PCT/CA2014/000029).
Sunshine said it will pay quarterly payments of principal and interest due starting in March 2016 through December 2020, under the terms of a secured promissory note, with Advanomics granted a security interest in the patents.
