Sankyo & Vanguard Sign VML 252 Deal

Leading Japanese drug group Sankyo and UK biopharmaceutical companyVanguard Medica have signed an agreement that gives the Tokyo-based firm exclusive rights to develop and commercialize VML 252, Vanguard's compound for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia or elevated blood phosphate in patients with kidney disease (Marketletter September 29), in Japan and the Far East.

Under the terms of the agreement, Sankyo will make a series of payments, thought to be up to $10 million, for the rights to VML 252, which is expected to begin Phase III trials in 1998, with a launch date before 2001. Vanguard is enthusiastic about market opportunities for the compound, particularly in Japan, with chief executive Robert Mansfield noting that "renal dialysis patients are a substantial population in Japan because there are few kidney transplants."

The compound itself is a novel calcium-free phosphate-binding agent which will be administered orally. It is designed to act locally in the gut without being absorbed, hence the optimism of the company regarding tolerability in patients. It is currently considering other partnering opportunities in the USA, as well as Europe.