BTG Cancer Drug Deal With Chinese Firm

Israeli-firm Bio-Technology General has signed an exclusive marketing agreement with the Chinese company Schenzhen Boda for three anticancer products which, according to BTG, are the chemical equivalents of Bristol-Myers Squibb's products Taxol (paclitaxel) and Vepesid (etoposide) and the off-patent drug doxorubicin.

Sim Fass, president and chief executive of BTG, said that the agreement represents a valuable new opportunity for the company by expanding its pharmaceutical horizons. He continued that it should allow BTG to commercialize cancer therapeutics with substantial market potential at competitive prices. The products are the chemical equivalents of drugs already proven to be some of the most effective treatments for several cancers and could enhance BTG's revenues and profitability over the next several years and beyond, he added.

According to the agreement, Schenzhen Boda will manufacture the products and BTG will submit marketing approvals to the appropriate regulatory authorities. BTG has exclusive rights for the products in North America, Europe and the Pacific Rim, including Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand and the Philippines, and non-exclusive rights in China. Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed.