Clinical practice drives marimastat deal

In a move to secure a position in Japan's market for cancer drugs, Tanabe Seiyaku Co. Ltd. (Osaka, Japan) sealed a deal potentially worth $74 million to develop and market British Biotech plc's marimastat oral anti-cancer matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor in Japan.

According to James Noble, BBIOY's finance director, Tanabe's willingness to pay so much for a single country deal was predicated in part on marimastat's fit into the Japanese way of thinking about cancer treatment. "Of great importance," said Noble, "is Tanabe's belief that marimastat, which is taken orally twice daily, fits the profile for cancer treatment in Japan, which is far less aggressive than in the U.S. or Europe."...