Abraxis licenses Abraxane to Green Cross for Korea

USA-based biotechnology firm Abraxis BioScience has granted an exclusive license to Green Cross Corp for the commercialization of Abraxane (paclitaxel albumin-bound particles for injectable suspension) in Korea. Through this agreement, Green Cross will pay a royalty on net sales of the breast cancer drug in Korea as well as upfront and milestone payments.

Green Cross will be responsible for the commercialization of Abraxane in Korea and will employ an exclusive sales force following regulatory and pricing approval for the drug in that country. Abraxane is currently co-promoted in the USA with Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca. Other global partnerships for the commercialization of the product are with Taiho Pharmaceuticals in Japan and Biocon in India.

Abraxane is based on Abraxis' proprietary tumor targeting technology known as the nab technology platform, which the firm says is the first to maximize the tumor's biology against itself, taking advantage of an albumin-specific, receptor-mediated transport system and allowing the delivery of a drug from the vascular space across the blood vessel wall to the underlying tumor tissue.