Supergen sells US Nipent rights to Mayne

Australia's Mayne Pharma and USA-based drugmaker SuperGen have signed a definitive agreement for the former to acquire the North American rights to the latter's hairy cell leukemia drug Nipent (pentostatin for injection), for a total maximum consideration of $34.0 million inclusive of approximately $14.0 million in upfront fees.

Under the terms of the deal, which also includes SurfaceSafe, Supergen's two-step, towelette system to decontaminate surfaces where chemotherapy is mixed or administered, the remaining payments are contingent on key events and product performance; the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.

As part of the transaction, Mayne Pharma will acquire all product rights, patents, registrations, trade marks, inventories and relevant supplier and customer contracts related to Nipent and SurfaceSafe in North America. The parties are working towards executing additional agreements for the acquisition of mitomycin, a cytotoxic cancer therapeutic, for the US market as well as any SuperGen rights to these products outside of the USA.