Buoyed by deep pockets filled with cash after it separated from its generic drug business, Abraxis Bioscience
It'll cost the company $268 million to get out of the partnership, but the timing seems right; Abraxane has been competing well against the other taxanes -- Bristol-Myers Squibb's
The agreement still needs to be approved by Abraxis' board, but a thumbs-up seems likely, because if the company stays with AstraZeneca, it will have to start paying a commission of 50% -- more than double the 22% commission that AstraZeneca currently gets.
Abraxis plans to start nine phase 3 trials next year. Seven will support label expansions of Abraxane into other cancer types (and as a first-line therapy for breast cancer) and the other two are for nab-docetaxel, its most advanced pipeline drug. Nab-docetaxel uses the same nab (nanoparticle albumin-bound) technology as Abraxane, which binds albumin to a well-characterized chemotherapy to make it more potent.
I've always liked Abraxis for its relatively low-risk pipeline that could produce decent revenue, but the company always seemed like it was stuck in the mud. This announcement makes me think that it's serious about taking it to the next level. At the very least, investors should keep this one on their watch list.