Valeo Pharma Signs Licensing Agreement with Pharmamar to Commercialize Yondelis® in Canada

• Deal strengthens Valeo's presence in the Canadian oncology market
• Yondelis® sales to start contributing to Valeo's revenues in the second half of 2020

MONTREAL, Jan. 21, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - Valeo Pharma Inc. (CSE: VPH) ("Valeo" or the "Company"), a Canadian specialty pharmaceutical company,  announced today that it has signed a licensing agreement with PharmaMar for the exclusive rights to commercialize Yondelis® (trabectedin), a novel marine-derived antitumor agent, to ensure uninterrupted supply of this important product in Canada.

Under the terms of the agreement, Valeo shall pay a one-time licence payment to PharmaMar. PharmaMar will retain exclusive production rights and will sell the product to Valeo for commercial use.

"We are very pleased with the opportunity of taking over the commercialization of this differentiated drug in Canada. Yondelis® is a recognized global standard of care in the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma. We look forward to using our resources and expertise to expand the market for Yondelis® to its full potential," said Steve Saviuk, Valeo's President and CEO. "Yondelis® is a good example of the type of innovative drugs we are looking to add to our expanding product portfolio.  Considering the product is already on the Canadian market, we expect Yondelis to contribute to our growing revenues in the coming quarters."

Commenting on the licensing of Yondelis® to Valeo, José Maria Fernandez, President of PharmaMar stated: "We are pleased to have partnered Yondelis® with Valeo for the Canadian market. We see Valeo's infrastructure and internal capabilities  playing a key role to maximize access to this unique drug for as many sarcoma and ovarian cancer patients as possible and look forward to a long and mutually beneficial partnership with Valeo."

Yondelis® is already approved for sale in Canada. PharmaMar previously announced in August 2019 the recovery of the Yondelis® commercialization rights from Janssen Products LLP in more than 40 countries, including Canada.

About Yondelis®

Yondelis® (trabectedin) is a novel, synthetically produced antitumor agent originally isolated from Ecteinascidia turbinata, a type of sea squirt. Yondelis® exerts its anticancer effects primarily by inhibiting active transcription, a type of gene expression on which proliferating cancer cells are particularly dependent.

About PharmaMar 

Headquartered in Madrid, PharmaMar is a biopharmaceutical company, focused on oncology and committed to research and development which takes its inspiration from the sea to discover molecules with antitumor activity. It is a company that seeks innovative products to provide healthcare professionals with new tools to treat cancer. Its commitment to patients and to research has made it one of the world leaders in the discovery of antitumor drugs of marine origin.

PharmaMar has a pipeline of drug candidates and a robust R&D oncology program. It develops and commercializes Yondelis® in Europe and has other clinical-stage programs under development for several types of solid cancers: lurbinectedin (PM1183), PM184 and PM14. With subsidiaries in Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria and the United States. PharmaMar wholly owns other companies: GENOMICA, a molecular diagnostics company; Sylentis, dedicated to researching therapeutic applications of gene silencing (RNAi). To learn more about PharmaMar, please visit us at www.pharmamar.com.

About Valeo Pharma

Valeo Pharma is a specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to the commercialization of innovative prescription products in Canada. With a focus on Neurodegenerative Diseases, Oncology and Hospital Specialty Products, Valeo Pharma has a growing portfolio of innovative products and the full infrastructure to properly manage these products through all stages of commercialization.  Headquartered in Kirkland, Quebec, Valeo Pharma has all capabilities internally to register and market health care solutions for Canadian patients. For more information, please visit www.valeopharma.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements about Valeo's objectives, strategies and businesses that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are "forward-looking" because they are based on our current expectations about the markets we operate in and on various estimates and assumptions. Actual events or results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements if known or unknown risks affect our business, or if our estimates or assumptions turn out to be inaccurate.

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SOURCE Valeo Pharma inc.