Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. (SNTA) will see its cancer-drug venture with GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) end within 90 days, putting the treatment further into question after a late-stage trial was stopped earlier this year amid mortality concerns.
Synta has received $130 million from Glaxo since the deal involving elesclomol was signed in 2007, and was in line to get $880 million more if the program was continued and future milestones were achieved.
If elesclomol ultimately makes it to market, Glaxo might get a royalty, Synta said Monday.
Synta Chief Executive Safi R. Bahcall said he could “understand” Glaxo’s decision, adding Synta will be reviewing data from the ill-fated trial and additional results with medical and scientific advisors later this year as it plots its next steps. “We expect to report more on additional data and plans for the program later this year,” Bahcall said.
In February, the company suspended the Phase III study on elesclomol in metastatic melanoma after data showed more patients died in the treatment arm than those receiving a placebo. That led Synta in March to cut 90 jobs, or 41% of its workforce, allowing the company to operate with its current cash reserves for about two more years without the need to sell stock.
Synta’s shares were inactive premarket after closing Friday at $2.71. The stock is down 56% this year, plunging after the elesclohol trial’s suspension