Worldwide rights to elesclomol to return to Synta
LEXINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun. 15, 2009--
Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ: SNTA), a biopharmaceutical company
focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing small molecule
drugs to treat severe medical conditions, announced today that
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Synta will end the collaborative agreement for
the clinical development and commercialization of elesclomol effective
no later than September 10, 2009. Worldwide rights to elesclomol will
revert to Synta and Synta may pay GSK a low single-digit royalty on any
potential future sales of elesclomol.
“We appreciate GSK’s contributions to this program and understand their
decision,” said Safi R. Bahcall, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive
Officer of Synta. “We will be meeting with medical and scientific
advisors to review the data from the SYMMETRY trial and additional
results later this year, and will use this guidance to inform our
choices for a path forward for the program. We expect to report more on
additional data and plans for the program later this year.”
“While we are continuing to evaluate the potential of elesclomol, we are
focusing our resources on the other programs in our portfolio,
particularly our Hsp90 program for which we expect to initiate a number
of new clinical trials in the near term,” continued Dr. Bahcall. “With a
strong cash position, a portfolio of first-in-class and best-in-class
programs, and a productive discovery engine, we are excited about the
potential of our pipeline and are committed to realizing the potential
of these programs to benefit patients.”
Conference Call and Webcast Information
Synta will conduct a conference call to provide a corporate update today
at 8:30 a.m. (ET). The conference call will be webcast live over the
Internet and can be accessed by logging on to the "Investors" section of
the Synta Pharmaceuticals website, www.syntapharma.com,
prior to the event.
The call also can be accessed by dialing (877) 407-8035 or (201)
689-8035 prior to the start of the call. For those unable to join the
live conference call, a replay will be available from 1:00 p.m. (ET)
today through midnight (ET) on June 21. To access the replay, dial (877)
660-6853 or (201) 612-7415 and refer to both account number 286 and
conference ID 325811. The webcast also will be archived on the Company's
website.
About Synta Pharmaceuticals
Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on
discovering, developing, and commercializing small molecule drugs to
extend and enhance the lives of patients with severe medical conditions,
including cancer and chronic inflammatory diseases. Synta has a unique
chemical compound library, an integrated discovery engine, and a diverse
pipeline of clinical- and preclinical-stage drug candidates with
distinct mechanisms of action and novel chemical structures. All Synta
drug candidates were invented by Synta scientists using our compound
library and discovery capabilities. For more information, please visit www.syntapharma.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
This media release may contain forward-looking statements about Synta
Pharmaceuticals Corp. Such forward-looking statements can be identified
by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "will", "would",
"should", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes",
"may", "estimates", "predicts", "projects", or similar expressions
intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements,
including statements relating to the timing, developments and progress
of our clinical and preclinical programs, reflect our current views with
respect to future events and are based on assumptions and subject to
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements, including those described in "Risk Factors" of our Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2008 as filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Synta undertakes no obligation to publicly update
forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future
events or otherwise, except as required by law.
Source: Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp.
Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp.
Rob Kloppenburg, 781-541-7125