Tesaro Inc (Nasdaq: TSRO) has announced the successful achievement of primary endpoints in each of two Phase III trials of Rolapitant for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. In December 2010,Tesaro signed a marketing rights agreement with
Opko Health Inc. (NYSE: OPK; TASE: OPK) which had previously developed the drug.
Tesaro said that it plans filing with the US Food and Drug Administration for marketing approval in 2014.
On the surface this should be good news for Opko which has already received a $121 million milestone payment and stands to gain royalties from any future sales of the drug.
But market sources have reservations about these latest results and are skeptical that Tesaro will gain marketing approval or indeed whether the drug has any advantages over existing treatments.
Both Opko and Tesaro share prices fell. Opko CEO and chairman Phillip Frost is also chairman of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA)
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 23, 2013
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