Valeant and AstraZeneca strike high-figure deal on psoriasis drug
by Canadian Manufacturing.com Staff
Valeant to pay $100M upfront in major licensing deal
LAVAL, Que.—Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. has entered into an agreement with multi-national pharma firm, AstraZeneca, that will allow Valeant to develop and commercialize a psoriasis drug known as brodalumab.
Valeant said Brodalumab is an IL-17 receptor monoclonal antibody in development for patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. The agreement will grant Valeant exclusive rights to develop and commercialize brodalumab globally, except in Japan and certain other Asian countries where rights are held by Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co. under a prior arrangement. Valeant will assume all development costs associated with the regulatory approval for brodalumab. The Canadian drug giant said regulatory submission in U.S. and EU is planned for the fourth quarter of 2015.
“We are delighted we were able to reach a licensing agreement with AstraZeneca to commercialize brodalumab, which is potentially the most efficacious therapy yet for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis,” Michael Pearson, chairman and CEO of Valeant, said. “We remain fully committed to dermatology and will continue to advance our pipeline of internally developed and acquired products.”
Valeant will pay AstraZeneca $100 million upfront for the rights, as well as additional pre-launch payment milestones of up to $170 million. The company will also be on the hook for $175 million in post-launch, sales related payments.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2015, subject to customary closing conditions.
