Subject: Pfizer, Liposome Set Marketing Pact For Cancer Drug 
Date: Published: 11/21/90 (66 lines)
Source: Wall Street Journal. Copyright Dow Jones & Co. Inc.

    Technology:
    Pfizer, Liposome
    Set Marketing Pact
    For Cancer Drug
    ----
    By Udayan Gupta
    Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

    NEW YORK -- Pfizer Inc. said it acquired a license for
 world-wide marketing rights to an anti-cancer drug being
 developed by Liposome Co. 
    The drug, TLC D-99, is a liposomal formulation of
 doxorubicin, one of the most widely used drugs in the
 treatment of cancer.  Liposomes are tiny spheres made out of
 lipids or fats that encapsulate drugs.  Liposomal drugs are
 said to be better tolerated by cancer patients and often are
 more effective, analysts noted.  "This is the most substantial
 deal Liposome has delivered," said Linda Miller, a
 biotechnology analyst with PaineWebber Inc. 
    While terms weren't disclosed, it is estimated that
 Liposome, a small Princeton, N. J., biotechnology concern,
 will get as much as $20 million to develop the product before
 receiving royalties and so-called success payments.  Liposome,
 which hasn't had a profit in its nine years of existence, is
 expected to show a fourth-quarter profit as a result of the
 licensing agreement.
    "The funding provided by Pfizer will guarantee the
 financial resources necessary to bring this drug to the
 market," said Marc Ostro, Liposome's chief scientific
 officer.  "Without a partner, we would have had difficulty in
 moving ahead quickly."  He said he expects the drug to be
 available in 1994.
    Pfizer says it was attracted to liposomes as a drug
 delivery system because Liposome Co.  "appears to have
 overcome the technological problems associated with
 large-scale production and consistent delivery."  Initial
 results suggest that patients tolerate more of the cancer
 drug in liposome form than in any other form, said Dr. John
 Jefferis, a Pfizer vice president.  He said the pharmaceutical
 company hoped to add the liposome-delivered drug to its
 existing line of anti-cancer drugs.
    Liposome Co., founded in 1981, focuses on the use of
 liposome-based pharmaceuticals for the treatment of cancer
 and serious infectious diseases.  It recently announced phase
 two clinical trials in AIDS patients for TLC G-65, a drug
 that fights mycobacterium avium-intracellulari (MAI),
 considered by many to be the most common cause of death in
 AIDS patients.  Liposome also has a major relationship with
 Bristol Myers-Squibb Co. for the commercialization of a drug
 that treats some severe infections in cancer and AIDS
 patients.
    Still, Liposome expects to report a loss for 1990 of about
 $5 million on revenue of $6.3 million.  Last year, it had a
 loss of $7.6 million on revenue of $3.8 million.
    In national over-the-counter trading, Liposome rose 50
 cents to $2.75.  In New York Stock Exchange composite trading,
 Pfizer rose 25 cents to $77.75.

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