Cambridge Biotech Company Wins Key Cancer Drug Patent, Joins The Big Leagues.

Cambridge Biotech Company Wins Key Cancer Drug Patent, Joins The Big Leagues. Ariad Pharmaceuticals, which up to now, has been only one of so many modest R&D companies in Cambridge, has just nailed down the patent on a hot new anti-leukemia drug called ponatinib. That, of course, is the unsexy pre-branding name; expect it to be called something far catchier if it actually makes it off the ground. The patent will give the company protection up through 2026 — over a decade of the type of exclusivity that made, say, Lipitor so valuable to Pfizer. Anticipating wild success, Ariad is moving fast these days: its stock has doubled over the past year, it’s already made a deal with Merck, and its scouting for a place to set down its European headquarters in Switzerland. Mind you, all of this is ahead of any approval by the FDA, so we’re guessing they’ve got their fingers crossed pretty tightly over there across the river. [Boston.com]