By Stephen Nakrosis


Puma Biotechnology Inc. on Tuesday said it entered an exclusive license agreement with Takeda for the rights to alisertib, an inhibitor of aurora kinase A.

The deal will see Puma assume sole responsibility for the global development and commercialization of alisertib. Puma will pay Takeda an upfront license fee of $7 million, and Takeda is eligible to receive up to $287.3 million in milestone payments, the companies said.

Alisertib has been tested in clinical trials in patients with metastatic cancers including breast cancer and small cell lung cancer, as well as head and neck cancer and ovarian cancer, among others. Puma said it plans to initially focus on developing alisertib to treat patients with certain types of breast cancer and small cell lung cancer.


Write to Stephen Nakrosis at stephen.nakrosis@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

09-20-22 1651ET