Spectrum Pharmaceuticals
Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an American biopharmaceutical company based in Boston that develops and markets cancer drugs for hematology and oncology. It was publicly traded on Nasdaq as SPPI. The company’s CEO is Tom Riga. In 2018, Spectrum reported revenue of about $109 million and had around 164 employees as of the end of 2021.
In 2019 Spectrum sold its entire portfolio of hematology and oncology products to Acrotech Biopharma USA, a subsidiary of India’s Aurobindo Pharma. The seven drugs sold—Fusilev, Folotyn, Zevalin, Marqibo, Beleodaq, Evomela, and Khapzory—had combined sales of about $76.4 million in the first three quarters of 2018. The divestiture allowed Spectrum to reinvest in two main assets: Rolvedon (eflapegrastim), which received FDA approval in September 2022 to reduce chemotherapy‑induced neutropenia, and Poziotinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor in development for certain non-small cell lung cancers.
Development highlights for Rolvedon include prior Biologics License Applications and a 2021 FDA complete response letter due to manufacturing issues, with a resubmission and eventual approval in 2022. Poziotinib has seen a lengthy regulatory process: NDA submission in December 2021, Fast Track designation in February 2022, an FDA advisory committee vote against approval in September 2022, and a complete response letter in November 2022, leading Spectrum to lay off a substantial portion of its R&D staff and consider strategic alternatives for Poziotinib.
In April 2023, Assertio Holdings announced a deal to acquire Spectrum for about $248 million, and the acquisition was completed on July 31, 2023.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 14:01 (CET).