BioCentury
ARTICLE | Company News

Takeda returns veltuzumab to Immunomedics

October 9, 2013 11:42 PM UTC

Immunomedics Inc. (NASDAQ:IMMU) said Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (Tokyo:4502) terminated a 2008 deal and returned to Immunomedics rights to subcutaneous veltuzumab, a humanized anti- CD20 antibody. The termination comes about a month after Immunomedics started arbitration proceedings to settle its allegations that delays by Takeda's Nycomed unit in developing veltuzumab are a material breach of the deal. Immunomedics said it still plans to pursue arbitration for damages.

In 2008, Immunomedics granted Nycomed exclusive, worldwide rights to develop and commercialize subcutaneous veltuzumab for non-cancer indications. Takeda acquired Nycomed in 2011. In May, Nycomed said it planned to develop subcutaneous veltuzumab for systemic lupus erythematosis (SLE) as the lead indication instead of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). At the time, Nycomed was planning a Phase II trial in SLE; it had discontinued a Phase II trial in RA in last year. Immunomedics retained rights to veltuzumab for cancer indications, where the compound is in a Phase I/II trial for a variety of hematologic cancers. It is also in Phase I/II testing for idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). ...