La Jolla says in partnership talks on Lupus drug
BOSTON, Aug 9 (Reuters) - La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co. (LJPC.O), which has struggled for years to win approval for its experimental drug to treat Lupus, said on Thursday it was in "serious" partnership discussions with big pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
Deirdre Gillespie, the company's chief executive officer, said in an interview that it expects to sign a deal by the end of the first quarter of next year, or even earlier.
Gillespie said the company has "serious discussions going on" based on renewed optimism following the release of interim clinical trial data that suggests the drug may still have a future.
She said the company is considering two possible deal structures: one being a global partnership with a single company; the other being separate deals covering different regions of the world, depending on which would create most value for shareholders.
Regardless of which decision, "we will keep at least part of the United States for ourselves," she said.
((Reporting by Toni Clarke, editing by Mark Porter; Reuters Messaging, toni.clarke.reuters.com@reuters.net, 617-367-4165)) Keywords: LA JOLLA/
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