Tucson-based drug startup Cancer Prevention Pharmaceuticals Inc. is being acquired by a Minneapolis-based cancer drug development company.
Panbela Therapeutics Inc. said it will acquire the Tucson company for a combination of stock and future milestone and royalty payments of up to $60 million, depending on the potential approval and commercialization of Cancer Prevention Pharmaceutical’s lead drug candidate.
Founded in 2008 based on technology developed partly at the University of Arizona, Cancer Prevention Pharmaceuticals is developing drugs designed to reduce the risk of cancer and other diseases.
The company has completed a Phase III trial of its flagship drug candidate in combination with another drug for prevention of a rare, teenage-onset disease called familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), which often leads to colon cancer.
In 2020, CPP submitted a new-drug application for the drug’s use to prevent FAP to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, along with a similar filing to the European Union’s drug authority.
The company plans another FAP trial to begin by the end of the year, and a Phase III trial in colon cancer survivors is underway, sponsored by the Southwest Oncology Group. Clinical trials in neuroblastoma, gastric cancer, and early-onset type-1 diabetes are underway in collaboration with various nonprofit groups, the company says.
Cancer Prevention Pharmaceuticals was co-founded by retired University of Arizona professor and former Arizona Cancer Center member Eugene Gerner and Dr. Frank Meyskens Jr., an oncologist and former Arizona Cancer Center member and professor at the University of California-lrvine.
Panbela is in early clinical trials of its initial product candidate, SBP-101, for the treatment of patients with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, the most common type of pancreatic cancer, with planned trials for ovarian, prostate and breast cancer.
CPP co-founder and CEO Jeff Jacob said he strongly believes Panbela is the right choice to carry the company’s efforts forward.
“By leveraging the established infrastructure of Panbela, we expect to continue to expand our pipeline,” Jacob said.
“This transaction is an important step towards our goal of creating a diversified pipeline with an ability to hit multiple targets and thereby expanding the potential of the combined company,” said Jennifer K. Simpson, president and CEO of Panbela.
