Novartis AG on Tuesday unveiled a $507 million deal to boost its antiviral-drug pipeline by buying rights to the hepatitis C drug Albuferon from U.S. biotech company Human Genome Sciences .
The news sent shares of Human Genome up about 8 percent on Nasdaq.
Swiss pharmaceutical group Novartis will pay HGS development and commercial milestone and other payments of up to $507 million, HGS said in a statement, and in return gain exclusive rights to the investigative drug, which is about to enter late-stage trials.
The agreement -- which follows a deal in March worth $525 million with U.S. biotech company Idenix Pharmaceuticals for another experimental hepatitis C treatment -- underscores Novartis's reputation as an aggressive acquirer of medicines developed by other companies.
Major drugmakers are increasingly turning to licensed products to fill out their in-house portfolios. Albuferon is a long-acting form of interferon alpha created by HGS.
Liver disease Hepatitis C is the most common chronic blood-borne infection in the developed world with an estimated 170 million people worldwide infected, Novartis said.
MARKETING PUSH
"Hepatitis is an area of focus for Novartis and we view the deal as mildly positive," said analysts at investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein.
Shares in Novartis were down 0.8 percent at 67.45 francs in morning trading, in line with a broadly weaker market and a 0.8 percent drop in the Dow Jones European pharma index.
In details of the agreement, HGS and Novartis said they will market Albuferon together in the United States and will share U.S. commercialization costs and U.S. profits equally.
Novartis will be responsible for commercialization outside the United States and will pay HGS a royalty on those sales. HGS and Novartis will share equally in clinical development costs.
HGS will receive an upfront fee of $45 million. Clinical development, commercial milestone and other payments to HGS could total as much as $507.5 million, including $47.5 million when the first patient is dosed in a Phase III clinical trial, HGS said.
"The signing of a premier partner such as Novartis who is committed to becoming the dominant player in HCV signals the strategic value of Albuferon as the best in class interferon," Citigroup analyst Yaron Weber said in an investment note.
Shares of Human Genome rose 81 cents, or about 8 percent, to $10.99 in early trading on Nasdaq.
The news sent shares of Human Genome up about 8 percent on Nasdaq.
Swiss pharmaceutical group Novartis will pay HGS development and commercial milestone and other payments of up to $507 million, HGS said in a statement, and in return gain exclusive rights to the investigative drug, which is about to enter late-stage trials.
The agreement -- which follows a deal in March worth $525 million with U.S. biotech company Idenix Pharmaceuticals for another experimental hepatitis C treatment -- underscores Novartis's reputation as an aggressive acquirer of medicines developed by other companies.
Major drugmakers are increasingly turning to licensed products to fill out their in-house portfolios. Albuferon is a long-acting form of interferon alpha created by HGS.
Liver disease Hepatitis C is the most common chronic blood-borne infection in the developed world with an estimated 170 million people worldwide infected, Novartis said.
MARKETING PUSH
"Hepatitis is an area of focus for Novartis and we view the deal as mildly positive," said analysts at investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein.
Shares in Novartis were down 0.8 percent at 67.45 francs in morning trading, in line with a broadly weaker market and a 0.8 percent drop in the Dow Jones European pharma index.
In details of the agreement, HGS and Novartis said they will market Albuferon together in the United States and will share U.S. commercialization costs and U.S. profits equally.
Novartis will be responsible for commercialization outside the United States and will pay HGS a royalty on those sales. HGS and Novartis will share equally in clinical development costs.
HGS will receive an upfront fee of $45 million. Clinical development, commercial milestone and other payments to HGS could total as much as $507.5 million, including $47.5 million when the first patient is dosed in a Phase III clinical trial, HGS said.
"The signing of a premier partner such as Novartis who is committed to becoming the dominant player in HCV signals the strategic value of Albuferon as the best in class interferon," Citigroup analyst Yaron Weber said in an investment note.
Shares of Human Genome rose 81 cents, or about 8 percent, to $10.99 in early trading on Nasdaq.
posted by doublezero at
3:49 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home