CASI Pharma Gets Exclusive Rights To Certain Spectrum Pharma's Drugs

(RTTNews) - CASI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (CASI) Thursday said it has been granted exclusive rights to two of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s (SPPI) commercial oncology drugs, Zevalin and Marqibo plus a Phase 3 drug candidate CE melphalan, for their development and marketing in China, including Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.

As per the license agreement, CASI will develop and market the three drugs and will take care of the submission of import drug registration applications to regulatory authorities as well as conduct any confirmatory clinical studies in greater China, if required.

Commenting on the transaction, Ken Ren, CASI's Chief executive said: "... The addition of these three drugs transforms our pipeline and significantly expands our market share potential in China."

ZEVALIN is used for treating non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, while Marqibo is used in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Spectrum plans to file a New Drug Application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for CE melphalan in the second half of 2014.