Aslan: fighting cancer head-on

If you look at a cancer map across the world, the prevalence of its different types varies regionally.

While breast and lung cancer are most problematic in the Western world, in Asia one of the most common types of cancer is gastric, especially for men (the factors contributing to the difference are unclear).

“A lot of big pharma traditionally have focused on what they’ve seen as the most important commercial markets—the US and Europe—and paid less attention to Asia-specific indications,” explains Ben Goodger, general counsel of Singapore-based biotechnology company Aslan.

However, a team of big pharma executives noticed that there are a number of Asia-prevalent cancers, with high and growing incidence rates, for which there are currently no approved treatments.

When the seasoned team came together seven years ago to launch Aslan, there were very few treatments in development and the decision to focus on this large, untapped market was an easy one to reach.

Aslan now has an advanced portfolio of pathway inhibitors, immune checkpoint inhibitors and tumour metabolism stress molecules aimed at targeting tumour types including, gastric, biliary tract and colorectal that are problematic in Asia.

Its lead programme, varlitinib, is currently in late-stage development and the next two to three years could represent an important time for Aslan, in terms of its first regulatory filing and taking the initial steps towards commercialisation.

That’s not all—the company is also working on earlier stage assets but, for now, exactly what they are remains under wraps.

Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) currently lead patent filings in the immunotherapy field, with AstraZeneca and Genentech/Roche close behind.

But there’s a whole swathe of biotech companies making exciting developments and all of these are filing patents.

Goodger admits he’s not the person to ask about the current state of immunotherapy research, but he makes clear that Aslan is doing some “exciting and cutting-edge innovation”.

Aslan believes in a multi-layered approach. Given that many patients appear to be unresponsive to immunotherapy, Aslan finds that combinations of drugs such as proliferation inhibitors, immunotherapy and other treatments may all need to be employed, concurrently and/or consecutively, to get a “good bite at the cancer”.

Unfortunately, cancer is very complex and the ways to attack it are going to have to become increasingly complex and multi-layered, in Goodger’s view.

“There is a magic combination out there but no-one has found it yet. Aslan is very much in the race,” he says.

Planning for all scenarios

Licensing can be a very profitable endeavour, but companies also need to look out for potential pitfalls.

“First and foremost, I would suggest that signing up to a deal which has not been fully thought through, can lead to the most serious problems down the line,” Goodger says.

He stresses that before entering into an agreement, companies should model “what if?” scenarios and develop solutions to them.

Another pitfall is failing to build in flexibility, thereby future-proofing the agreement.

In June, Aslan began trading on Taiwan’s stock exchange, the Taipei Exchange, and is the first foreign biotech company to be listed on it, according to Goodger.

Companies may undergo a similar transition to that of Aslan in terms of changing from a private entity to a publicly listed one during the lifetime of an agreement and there needs to be clear communication between the partners to factor in the changes this will bring.

It’s also essential to ensure the right allocation of risk and reward for each party. “In licence negotiations, it does not make for a sustainable long-term relationship if one party tries to grab an unfair piece of the revenues down the line, yet does little to bear the risk and put in the effort and investment to make those revenues actually happen,” explains the Aslan executive.

Arguments over allocation can usually be resolved by looking at the timing and amounts of upfront or milestone payments.

Although it may seem “a bit gloomy”, the exit and termination clauses are just as important and must be designed carefully, Goodger warns.

“A good licence is a relationship manual setting up what will hopefully be a long-lasting and mutually rewarding relationship,” he explains, adding that the licence should also have all the tools to fix issues when they arise.

If the agreement isn’t working, the parties need to be able to get out of the licence cleanly.