Palobiofarma receives milestone payment from Novartis

Palobiofarma, the company developing drugs based on adenosine receptor modulators, today announced that it has received a milestone payment from Novartis.The payment was triggered by the intiation of PBF-509 and PDR001 in the ongoing phase I trial, for patients with lung cancer.

PBF-509 is a novel and selective adenosine A2a receptor antagonist discovered and developed by Palobiofarma. The compound is the first of its class to start clinical development in Oncology, and more specifically in Lung Cancer. PDR001 is Novartis’s anti-PD1 antibody.

The milestone payment is the first from the licensing agreement between the two companies. Under the terms of that agreement, which was signed in September 2015, Novartis has exclusive development and commercialization rights to PBF-509 and several proprietary adenosine receptor modulators.

Julio Castro, Palobiofarma´s CEO, said: Achieving the first milestone of the licensing agreement with Novartis in less than one year is a tremendous accomplishment for a small Spanish Biotechnology company as Palobiofarma. We are extremely pleased with the collaborative effort of Paliobiofarma, Novartis, and the Moffit Cancer center that enabled an accelerated trial start.We all look forward to advancing in this combination and bringing this innovative treatment to the patients as soon as possible.