Sun Pharmaceutical Industries on Tuesday said it has entered into a licensing pact with Philogen SpA to commercialise under-development skin cancer drug in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The companies have come together to commercialise Philogen’s speciality product Nidlegy, an anti-cancer biopharmaceutical currently in Phase III clinical trials, Sun Pharma said in a statement.

Philogen, a Swiss-Italian firm, is developing it for the treatment of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Mumbai-based drug major will have exclusive rights to commercialise Nidlegy.

Philogen will complete pivotal clinical trials for the product in Europe, pursue marketing authorisation with the regulatory authorities and manufacture commercial supplies.

The two partner companies will share post-commercialisation economics in about a 50:50 ratio, the drug major said.

While other financial terms were not disclosed, Philogen will retain the IP rights for Nidlegy for other territories and indications other than skin cancers, it said.

“This collaboration is in line with our goal to bring innovative products to patients. With the expected addition of Nidlegy to our existing Odomzo franchise, we will be well-positioned to provide patient solutions across a broad spectrum of skin cancers in various disease stages,” Sun Pharma Business Head – Western Europe and ANZ Hellen De Kloet noted.

Sun Pharma shares were trading 0.53 per cent down at Rs 963 apiece on the BSE.