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NantWorks To Acquire Cynviloq From Sorrento For Up To $1.3 Billion

Los Angeles-based NantPharma, one of the family of companies founded by Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong as part of his NantWorks effort, is paying up to $1.3 billion for the rights to Cynviloq, a product owned by San Diego's Sorrento Therapeutics, the two said Friday. Sorrento said that NantWorks will provide $90M in an up-front payment, and up to $1.2 billion in milestone payments for the rights to Cynviloq. The compound is being used to treat cancer as part of chemotherapy. Interestingly enough, Cynviloq is a biosimilar drug which is directly comparable to Abraxane, the drug now owned by Celgene--which was originally created by Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong at Abraxis. Biosimilars are nearly identical copies of approved, existing biopharmaceuticals.