Idec Forges Link With Second Japanese Firm

Zenyaku Kogyo Co. Ltd. of Japan has agreed to invest $9.5 million in Idec Pharmaceuticals in return for certain product rights and a minority equity investment, the companies said Wednesday.

The agreement was the second that Idec has forged with a Japanese-based partner. Last year, the Institute of Immunology Co. Ltd., a privately held, Tokyo-based company, invested $23 million in Idec in return for rights to market several Idec products in several Asian countries.

Zenyaku Kogyo will receive rights in Japan and certain Asian countries for select Idec products now under development, including therapeutic drugs that Idec is developing for the treatment of B-cell lymphoma.

Zenyaku Kogyo will receive some shares of the La Jolla firm’s preferred stock but Idec executives declined to comment on details of the financial arrangements. They also declined to discuss the company’s recent business activity because “we’ve filed with the (federal) Securities and Exchange Commission for a possible initial public stock offering,” Idec President William H. Rastetter said Wednesday.

Idec is “very pleased to have Zenyaku Kogyo as our development partner,” Rastetter said. “Zenyaku has strength in the development of therapeutic products and an existing infrastructure for conducting human clinical studies of cancer therapeutics.”

The agreement with Zenyaku Kogyo “complements our existing relationship with the Institute of Immunology . . . which will co-develop our products for the same markets,” Rastetter said.

Zenyaku Kogyo will develop and commercialize therapeutic applications of products licensed from Idec Pharmaceuticals. The Institute of Immunology, which specializes in diagnostic products, will commercialize corresponding products for diagnosis and monitoring, Rastetter said.

Idec, which is concentrating on products for use in the treatment of B-cell lymphoma, might also be used to help treat other B-cell malignancies, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia and AIDS-related lymphoma.

Idec now has about 100 employees. About half of them work in San Diego, with the remainder working in the San Francisco Bay Area.