Drug Royalty Announces Follow Up Deal In The $1.5 Billion Cancer Therapeutic Market.TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 28, 1997--Drug Royalty Corp. (TSE See Tokyo Stock Exchange. TSE 1. See Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). 2. See Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE). :DRI See Digital Research. .) today announced they have invested $3.0 million in Phytogen Life Sciences Inc., a Vancouver-based pharmaceutical company, which develops, manufactures and commercializes pharmaceuticals from natural substances. This funding brings Drug Royalty's total investment in Phytogen to $4.5 million. Drug Royalty had previously invested $1.5 million in Phytogen during 1995. Drug Royalty's investment is part of a $7 million investment being made in Phytogen with the Canadian Medical Discoveries Fund. The terms of the investment provide an increased royalty on sales, 600,000 convertible preferred shares Preferred shares Preferred shares give investors a fixed dividend from the company's earnings and entitle them to be paid before common shareholders. See: Preferred stock. , and warrants to purchase 300,000 shares. The deal also provides conversion rights into an additional royalty, at Drug Royalty's option, at an initial public offering. Phytogen produces a generic form of paclitaxel paclitaxel /pac·li·tax·el/ (pak?li-tak´sel) an antineoplastic that promotes and stabilizes polymerization of microtubules, isolated from the Pacific yew tree (Taxus brevifolia); , an anti-cancer drug used in treatment of advanced breast and ovarian cancer ovarian cancer Malignant tumour of the ovaries. Risk factors include early age of first menstruation (before age 12), late onset of menopause (after age 52), absence of pregnancy, presence of specific genetic mutations, use of fertility drugs, and personal history of breast . Paclitaxel is also showing considerable promise in the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer lung cancer, cancer that originates in the tissues of the lungs. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States in both men and women. Like other cancers, lung cancer occurs after repeated insults to the genetic material of the cell. , Kaposis sarcoma sarcoma (särkō`mə), highly malignant tumor arising in connective- and muscle-cell tissue. It is the result of oncogenes (the cancer causing genes of some viruses) and proto-oncogenes (cancer causing genes in human cells). , and other forms of head and neck cancer. Paclitaxel is currently sold by Bristol Myers Squibb under the brand name Taxol(R). Bristol Myers has market exclusivity in the U.S. under the Waxman-Hatch Act, which expires December 27, 1997. Taxol(R) is the largest selling anti-cancer drug in the U.S., with sales of more than US$800 million a year. Sales of paclitaxel are expected to almost double by the year 2000. Drug Royalty Corporation Inc. provides shareholders with a means of participating in the global pharmaceutical industry by providing unique financial solutions to health care organizations around the world in return for royalties and other entitlements. CONTACT: Drug Royalty Corporation Inc. Ian Lennox, 416/863-1865 416/863-5161 (FAX) or Drug Royalty Corporation Inc. Jim Webster, 416/863-1865 416/863-5161 (FAX) |
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