PharmaMar Licenses Fully Synthetic Marine-derived Payloads to Seattle Genetics for Use in Drug Conjugates

MADRID, February 14, 2018

PharmaMar (MCE: PHM) has announced today the  signing of an exclusive licensing agreement with Seattle Genetics Inc. (SGEN: NASDAQ GS) under which Seattle Genetics receives exclusive worldwide rights to certain PharmaMar proprietary molecules for the development, manufacture and commercialization of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and/or other drug conjugates incorporating PharmaMar payloads.

     (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/624563/PharmaMar_Logo.jpg )

According to the terms of the agreement, PharmaMar receives an upfront payment of 5,000,000 US dollars on signing, followed by development milestones if a product enters clinical development conducted by Seattle Genetics. In addition, PharmaMar is eligible for potential approval and sales milestones as well as royalties, once a product receives regulatory approval and is commercialized.

PharmaMar has a Marine Payloads unit. These are new, structurally diverse molecules with novel mechanisms of action that provide a unique opportunity to develop next generation ADCs. These payloads are highly potent, with sub-nanomolar cytotoxic activity. ADCs are targeted cancer treatments designed to harness the specificity of antibodies to deliver cell-killing agents directly to cancer cells.

As Luis Mora, Managing Director of PharmaMar´s Oncology Business Unit, stated, "We are glad to sign this license agreement with Seattle Genetics, a pioneer and leading company in the ADC market, because it allows us to work together in these cutting-edge cancer treatments."

The payloads department at PharmaMar is new, placing the company as a supplier of cytotoxic products, necessary for all companies working within the field of ADCs.