Basilea Pharma and Glioblastoma Partner For Oncology Drug Candidate

Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd., a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical firm with headquarters in Switzerland dedicated to treating patients with severe bacterial and fungal infections, declared that it has forayed into an asset purchase agreement with Durham-based, North Carolina, Glioblastoma Foundation Inc. for Basilea's oncology drug candidate lisavanbulin (BAL101553), which has been developed as a potential therapy for glioblastoma, the most common type of primary brain cancer.

Dr. Marc Engelhardt, CMO of Basilea, said: “Glioblastoma is one of the most lethal types of brain cancer and available therapeutic options are very limited. Partnering lisavanbulin with the Glioblastoma Foundation is important to us, as it enables patients to continue having access to this promising anticancer drug candidate, now that Basilea has changed its strategic focus to anti-infectives.”

Dr. Gita Kwatra, chief executive officer of the Glioblastoma Foundation, said: “We are delighted to partner with Basilea and take over the development of lisavanbulin for glioblastoma patients. Lisavanbulin has shown excellent activity against glioblastoma in PDX preclinical models as well as efficacy in phase 1 and 2 studies. We strongly believe that lisavanbulin will be effective in a subset of glioblastoma patients and we are looking forward to initiating clinical trials of lisavanbulin in the US.”

In clinical trial 1 and trial 2 studies, Lisavanbulin (BAL101553, the prodrug of BAL27862) has been looked at as a possible treatment for glioblastoma. Lisavanbulin demonstrated in-vitro and in-vivo activity against a variety of treatment-resistant cancer models in preclinical studies. These models included tumors that were resistant to radiotherapy and conventionally approved therapies.