Medivation to Acquire BioMarin’s Breast Cancer Drug Talazoparib

California drugmaker Medivation is acquiring the worldwide rights to BioMarin’s breast cancer drug talazoparib, in a move aimed at diversifying and expanding its global oncology footprint.

Under the deal, Medivation will pay $410 million upfront and up to $160 million in regulatory and sales-based milestone payments. Following the deal’s close, expected by year’s end, the firm will oversee all R&D, regulatory and commercialization activities for all indications related to talazoparib.

Talazoparib is a poly ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, a class of drugs that has shown promise in treating multiple tumor types, including breast and prostate cancer.

The drug is currently in a Phase 3 trial comparing it with chemotherapy in patients with germline BRCA-mutated advanced and/or metastatic breast cancer, with progression-free survival the primary endpoint. It is also being studied in a Phase 2 trial evaluating overall response rate in patients with germline BRCA-mutated breast cancer.

Hank Fuchs, chief medical officer at BioMarin, said the deal will allow that company to focus on its main area of expertise — developing novel treatments for rare genetic diseases. One of those treatments, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy drug drisapersen, was granted rare pediatric disease designation by the FDA in August. — Kellen Owings