EDMONTON, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - BioMS Medical Corp. (TSX: MS - News), a leading developer in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS), today announced that it has received the US$10 million milestone payment from its partner, Eli Lilly and Company.
The milestone payment is based on the previously announced positive review of the scheduled interim analysis of the Company’s pivotal phase II/III Canadian and European trial (MAESTRO-01) of dirucotide (MBP8298) in patients with secondary progressive MS. The independent Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) for the MAESTRO-01 trial recommended that the trial proceed to completion based on the interim analysis which included efficacy and safety data from the first 200 patients to complete the trial.
To date, BioMS has received a total of US$97 million in payments from Eli Lilly and Company, based on the licensing and development agreement for dirucotide (MBP8298). An additional $400 million in milestone payments are possible under the terms of the licensing agreement, in addition to escalating royalties on sales.
“We are pleased that our partner has recognized the outcome of the interim analysis as a significant positive event,” said Kevin Giese, President and CEO of BioMS Medical. “We look forward to completing the MAESTRO-01 trial and reviewing the complete data set in the second half of 2009.”
About BioMS Medical Corp.
BioMS Medical is a biotechnology company engaged in the development and commercialization of novel therapeutic technologies. BioMS Medical’s lead technology, dirucotide (MBP8298), is for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and is being evaluated in two pivotal phase III clinical trials for secondary progressive MS patients, MAESTRO-01 in Canada and Europe and MAESTRO-03 in the United States. It additionally is being evaluated for relapsing remitting MS patients in a Phase II trial in Europe entitled MINDSET-01. In December 2007, BioMS entered into a licensing and development agreement granting Eli Lilly and Company exclusive worldwide rights to dirucotide (MBP8298) in exchange for an $87 million upfront payment, milestone payments and escalating royalties on sales. For further information please visit our website at www.biomsmedical.com.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements, which reflect the Company’s current expectation regarding future events. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, events or developments to be materially different from any future results, events or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, changing market conditions, the successful and timely completion of clinical studies, the establishment of corporate alliances, the impact of competitive products and pricing, new product development, uncertainties related to the regulatory approval process and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s ongoing quarterly and annual reporting. Certain of the assumptions made in preparing forward-looking statements include but are not limited to the following: that MBP8298 will continue to demonstrate a satisfactory safety profile in ongoing and future clinical trials; and that BioMS Medical Corp. will complete the respective clinical trials within the timelines communicated in this release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Source: BioMS Medical Corp.
