SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): September 30, 1998
PATHOGENESIS CORPORATION
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware 0-27150 91-1542150
(State or other (Commission (IRS Employer
jurisdiction of File No.) Identification No.)
incorporation)
201 Elliott Avenue West, Seattle,Washington 98119
(Address of principal executive offices)
(206) 467-8100
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)
Not applicable
(Former name or former address, if changes since last report)
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Item 5. Other Events
PathoGenesis Corporation has obtained an exclusive worldwide license
from Bristol-Myers Squibb to develop and market an antibiotic for inhalation,
under a license agreement between the two companies.
Attached hereto as Exhibit 99 is a copy of a press release issued by
PathoGenesis announcing the license.
Item 7. Exhibits
NUMBER DESCRIPTION
99 Press Release dated October 1, 1998
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SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
Dated: October 15, 1998
PATHOGENESIS CORPORATION
By: /S/ CAMERON S. AVERY
--------------------
Cameron S. Avery
General Counsel
NEWS RELEASE
[LOGO]
PATHOGENESIS CORPORATION 201 ELLIOTT AVENUE WEST, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98119
(206) 467-8100
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: Alan Meyer Maryellen Thielen Barbara Lindheim
PathoGenesis Corp. PathoGenesis Corp. Noonan/Russo
(206) 467-8100 (847) 583-5424 (212) 696-4455, X237
PATHOGENESIS CORP. ANNOUNCES
AEROSOLIZED DRUG CANDIDATE LICENSE
SEATTLE, Oct. 1, 1998 -PathoGenesis Corp. (Nasdaq: PGNS) has obtained
an exclusive worldwide license from Bristo-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) to develop
and market an antibiotic for inhalation. The drug candidate has been named
PA-1806.
"PA-1806 demonstrates high levels of activity against a wide spectrum
of bacteria that affect people with chronic lung infections," said Wilbur H.
Gantz, chairman and chief executive officer. "Our goal is to develop
complementary aerosolized antibiotics with different mechanisms of action to
give physicians more tools to treat these chronic lung infections."
PA-1806 is a patented new chemical entity in the monobactam class of
antibiotics. A patent on the drug candidate (originally BMS-180680) was issued
in 1994 and will expire in 2011. PA-1806 demonstrates potent activity against
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Burkholderia cepacia, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and
other gram-negative bacteria. PA-1806 has high potency against P. aeruginosa, in
part because it is transported into the bacterial cells via the same pathway
that is used to import iron. This potency may allow a relatively small dose to
have a therapeutic effect.
PathoGenesis obtained an exclusive worldwide license for the aerosol
use of PA-1806 from Bristol-Myers Squibb for an initial payment of $4 million,
to be expensed in the third quarter of 1998. Half is payable now and the other
half in early 1999. The agreement also calls for payments to be made upon
achieving agreed-upon milestones and for a royalty to be paid on product sales.
PathoGenesis plans to reformulate PA-1806 for nonsystemic aerosolized
delivery. The company's strategy is to develop a portfolio of aerosolized
antibiotics to treat chronic lung infections, including those in cystic
fibrosis, bronchiectasis, ventilator-dependent and immunocompromised patients.
PathoGenesis markets TOBI(R) (tobramycin solution for inhalation) in the U.S.
and has a second aerosolized drug candidate, PA-1420, in preclinical
development. TOBI, PA-1420 and PA-1806 have different mechanisms of action
against gram-negative bacteria.
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"We have a head start in developing PA-1806 and our second aerosolized
drug candidate, PA-1420, because of our knowledge of their use in humans - just
as our knowledge of tobramycin accelerated our development of TOBI," said A.
Bruce Montgomery, M.D., executive vice president of research and development for
PathoGenesis.
Seattle based PathoGenesis Corp. is a pharmaceutical company that
develops and markets drugs to treat chronic infectious diseases - lung
infections, in particular - where there is a significant need for improved
therapy. The company markets an inhaled antibiotic in the U.S. and is developing
drug candidates to treat serious chronic lung infections, including those common
in cystic fibrosis, bronchiectasis and tuberculosis patients. PathoGenesis'
stock is traded on the Nasdaq National Market System under the symbol PGNS. The
company's Web site is located at www.pathogenesis.com.
Note: This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such
forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties
or other factors that may cause the company's actual results to be materially
different from historical results or any results expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such a difference include,
but are not limited to, uncertainties related to the fact that PathoGenesis
began commercial operations only recently, its dependence on TOBI, third party
reimbursement and product pricing, government regulation, drug development and
clinical trials, competition and alternative therapies, and other factors
described in PathoGenesis' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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