UPDATE 1-Advanced Life, Wyeth unit in pact for pneumonia drug
(Recasts; adds details, share movement)
Oct 1 (Reuters) - Advanced Life Sciences Holdings Inc ADLS.O said a unit of Wyeth WYE.N bought a 4.9 percent stake in the biopharmaceutical company as part of an agreement related to antibiotic cethromycin, sending its shares up 36 percent.
The company said it entered into a development and commercialization agreement for cethromycin, an oral antibiotic treating mild-to-moderate community-acquired pneumonia, with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in the Asia Pacific region, excluding Japan.
Advanced Life said it will retain exclusive rights to cethromycin in the rest of the world, including North America and Europe and excluding Japan, where Abbott Laboratories (ABT.N) retains rights to the drug.
The overall value of the transaction could potentially exceed $100 million, the company said.
Separately, the company said it submitted an application to the U.S. Food Drug and Administration for the approval of cethromycin in mild-to-moderate community-acquired pneumonia.
Shares of Advanced Life surged 36 percent to $1.10 in trading before the bell. They closed at 81 cents Tuesday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Anand Basu in Bangalore; Editing by Deepak Kannan)
