Anormed hits milestoneSeptember 18, 2006Globe and Mail Canadian Press Vancouver — Anormed Inc. said Monday it will receive a $3-million (U.S.) milestone payment from Shire Pharmaceuticals Group PLC after Shire won German approval for Fosrenol, a treatment for high blood phosphate levels related to kidney dialysis. The Vancouver-based drug developer, currently in the midst of a takeover attempt by Genzyme Corp., sold global rights to the treatment to Shire in March 2004, and to date has received $19-million upon U.S. and EU approvals. “We are pleased with the further marketing approval granted for Fosrenol, which was the first product discovered by AnorMed approved for marketing,” acting president Paul Brennan said in a statement. Under the Shire agreement, AnorMed is slated to received a total of $18-million upon the drug's approval in the United States plus $7-million on approvals in European countries. Shire also agreed to pay $6-million upon regulatory approval in Japan. Last week, U.S. investment fund Atticus Capital LP, which owns about 9.1 per cent of AnorMed, said it won't support Genzyme's $380-million bid. AnorMed had previously rejected the offer, saying it has initiated contact with, and responded to inquiries from, several parties that have expressed an interest in the company. In addition to Atticus, AnorMed has said its directors and senior officers and largest shareholder Felix Baker — holding a 24.4 per cent stake — will not tender their shares. Baker won a proxy fight earlier this year that saw AnorMed replace its board at a special meeting of shareholders, after he claimed the previous directors had failed to create shareholder value or to provide direction to management. Michael Abrams, AnorMed's founder, president and chief executive, left the company in May. Genzyme has argued that AnorMed continues to face a number of challenges, including a need to rebuild its senior executive leadership, completing its trials for its lead drug Mozobil and bringing the drug to market. AnorMed hopes to release initial data from two Phase 3 studies of Mozobil by the second quarter of 2007 and file a new drug application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by the fourth quarter. Mozobil triggers the movement of stem cells out of the bone marrow and into circulating blood. AnorMed will hold its annual meeting Tuesday in Vancouver. The company's shares were up six cents at $11 (Canadian) in morning trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange. |
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