Jazz rolls the dice on a billion-dollar gamble on a new drug for SCLC — shooting for a 2020 launch

Jazz rolls the dice on a billion-dollar gamble on a new drug for SCLC — shooting for a 2020 launch

Source: 
Endpoints
snippet: 

Two days after filing their cancer drug lurbinectedin in the hunt for an FDA approval, Spain’s PharmaMar has snagged $200 million in cash as a down payment for a new pact with a US partner.

Jazz is handing off the cash and promising $800 million more in a billion-dollar bet that the drug can carve a straight path from positive Phase II data right into the lucrative market for small cell lung cancer — a tough field for drug hunters. Out of the $800 million, $250 million is reserved for regulatory approvals as they steer the drug to a potential 2020 launch.