Pfizer in trio of deals
Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) announced three deals on Monday covering compounds for HCV and schizophrenia and a genomic test for renal cell carcinoma. Pfizer partnered with Tacere (San Jose, Calif.) to develop and commercialize HCV compound TT-033. Tacere will conduct preclinical and early clinical testing for the adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector containing three RNAi elements, and Pfizer will complete further clinical testing and fund all aspects of the collaboration. Tacere plans to start Phase I trials in 2Q09. Pfizer will receive worldwide rights outside Asia to commercialize TT-033 and any second-generation compounds. Tacere will receive up to $145 million in upfront and milestone payments and is eligible for royalties. Tacere has an exclusive license to the product from Benitec (ASX:BLT).
The pharma partnered with Genomic Health (NASDAQ:GHDX) to develop a genomic test to estimate the risk of recurrence following surgery for patients with stage I-III non-metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Genomic Health will have all rights to the test. Further terms were not disclosed. Genomic Health was up $1.30 to $22.73 on Monday. ...