AstraZeneca agrees $250 million licensing agreement with Allergan
pharmafile | October 3, 2016 | News story | Sales and Marketing | Allergan, AstraZeneca, Crohn’s disease, MEDI2070, MedImmune, crohn's disease
Allergan has entered into a licensing agreement with MedImmune, of AstraZeneca, for the global rights of MedI2070, a synthetic antibody. MEDI2070 is presently going through Phase IIb clinical trials for moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease. Crohn’s disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the intestines. The drug is also ready to begin Phase II for ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammatory condition of the colon and rectum.
On top of Allergan having to pay an upfront fee of $250 million for the worldwide license to develop and commercialise the drug, they may have to make additional payments worth up to $1.27 billion. These additional payments are dependent upon agreed success-based development and sales-related milestones, as well as pay tiered royalties on potential sales of the medicine.
MedImmune had been leading the development for MEDI2070 after a collaboration agreement that AstraZeneca began with Amgen in March 2012. As a result of this prior agreement, AstraZeneca will have to pay Amgen one third of all payments and royalties received from Allergan, as well as a single-digit percentage inventor royalty on the drug.
Regarding the news, Bahija Jallal, executive vice president of MedImmune, said: “This agreement demonstrates our sharp focus on three main therapy areas while creating value from the increased R&D productivity and innovative science in our pipeline through collaborations. Allergan has significant experience in gastrointestinal and inflammatory diseases and is the right partner to progress the development and commercialisation of MEDI2070.”
Whilst David Nicholson, of Allergan, commented that “MEDI2070 represents an exciting addition to our Open Science pipeline, adding an important new program currently being studied in Crohn’s disease, with potential across a number of inflammatory and autoimmune disorders. The MEDI2070 program also reinforces Allergan’s commitment to bringing forward important innovations in the treatment of inflammation and autoimmune disorders where significant unmet need exists across many of our therapeutic areas”.
Ben Hargreaves
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