Westminster-based TriSalus acquires cancer drug candidate for up to $250M

WESTMINSTER and EMERYVILLE, California — TriSalus Life Sciences has purchased the development and sale rights of a breast cancer drug candidate from Dynavax Technologies Corp. (Nasdaq: DVAX) for what could total to be a $250 million deal as it pivots into clinical development.

In a statement Monday morning, the Westminster-based TriSalus said it will pay $5 million up front and $4 million at the end of the year for SD-101, a drug candidate that is thought to stimulate the immune system against various types of cancer and infectious diseases.

TriSalus recently rebranded itself from Surefire Medical Inc., when it primarily made catheters for targeted drug delivery. The company said it has agreed to pay further if the drug hits certain regulatory or commercial benchmarks or from future royalties, with the cap set at $250 million.

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“We believe by integrating our novel delivery technology with SD-101, our company will have the potential to improve outcomes in liver and pancreas tumor patients that presently have few viable options,” CEO and president Mary Szela said in a prepared statement.

Dynavax’s last trial for the drug combined it with Keytruda, a drug developed by Boulder-based Array BioPhama Inc. before drug giant Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) acquired the company for $11 billion last year.

Trial records show the drug combination completed Phase II, but Dynavax discontinued all clinical oncology development as part of an announced restructuring to focus on vaccines.

SD-101 has been applied to several diseases since 2009, according to a review of federal clinical trials, including two types of lymphoma, head and neck cancer and Hepatitis C.