Immune Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: IMNP) shares surged 48% to $3.61 on the day as it struck a deal to commercialize Ceplene throughout Latin America.
Ceplene is administered in conjunction with low dose interleukin-2 (IL-2), for maintenance of first remission in patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).
Immune has entered into a letter of intent with Pint Pharma GmnH, which is focused on Latin America and other markets.
Pint will be responsible for registration of Ceplene in Latin American countries based on the existing European marketing authorization and will carry out the full commercialization of the licensed product.
Pint will also invest $4mln into Immune Pharma's oncology subsidiary Cytovia Inc.
"We are excited about the possibility of partnering with Pint Pharma, a market leader in Latin America with strong commercialization capabilities in the field of oncology.
"Pint Pharma's desire to bring Ceplene/IL-2 immunotherapy to patients in Latin America complements our strategy," said Dr Daniel Teper, chief executive of Immune.
According to Pint, there are around 10,000 new cases of AML diagnosed per year in Latin America and there is currently no approved treatment for the maintenance of AML remission.