Ariad CEO sees partner deal this year

By Toni Clarke and Bill Berkrot

BOSTON (Reuters) - Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ARIA.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Tuesday it expects to sign an agreement with a partner later this year to market its experimental cancer drug outside the United States.

Speaking at the Reuters Biotechnology Summit in Boston, Ariad's Chief Executive Harvey Berger said he expects to have a deal in place as the cancer drug enters pivotal late-stage trials in the second half of this year.

He said a recent deal between Germany's Bayer AG (BAYG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Nuvelo Inc. (NUVO.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) of the United States offers a reasonable model for such a deal.

Last month Bayer signed a deal with Nuvelo under which Bayer agreed to pay $385 million to Nuvelo in a milestone payment, including $50 million upfront, for a blood clot busting drug in Phase III, or late-stage, development.

"This is a good comparable to use," said Berger. "It has many of the aspects, overall size and value that would be a good one to use as a benchmark for our objectives."

Berger said he would be open to separate marketing partnerships outside the United States, perhaps one for Europe and one for Asia.

Cambridge, Massachusetts,-based Ariad's drug, AP23573, or 573 for short, is being developed for soft-tissue and bone sarcomas but could prove to be effective in a broad range of other cancers, he said, including prostate cancer and leukemia, as well as breast and lung cancers.

If approved, the drug would become the first new treatment for sarcomas in more than 20 years. It has already gained orphan status from U.S. and European regulators, which comes with several years of marketing exclusivity.  Continued...