More than one-quarter of $1 billion could flow to a Swiss drug maker under a licensing deal concerning investigational drugs for respiratory infections and herpes.
Foster City, California-based Gilead Sciences said Friday that it had made a deal with Switzerland’s Novartis to in-license molecules under investigation for herpes virus, influenza and rhinovirus. Under the deal, Gilead acquires exclusive rights to develop and commercialize molecules with three undisclosed targets. In exchange, Novartis will receive an upfront payment and an additional $291 million in payments contingent on development and commercial milestones, along with royalties on annual net sales.
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“Today’s announcement builds on Gilead’s heritage in antiviral research and development,” Gilead Chief Scientific Officer John McHutchison said in a statement. “we look forward to applying this expertise to advance the development of potential new treatments for viruses with limited therapeutic options.”
Although it has branched out into numerous other diseases states, Gilead has historically specialized in drugs for viral infections, including HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
By contrast, none of the drugs that Novartis listed as key growth drivers in its second quarter earnings, released the day before Gilead’s announcement, are anti-infectives. For example, Entresto (sacubitril/valsartan) is used to treat heart failure and had sales of $421 million during the quarter, or $778 million for the first half of the year.
The deal follows another one by Gilead, announced last Monday, with Belgian drugmaker Galapagos. That deal, worth $5.05 billion in upfront and equity investment payments, gives Gilead access to six Galapagos drugs in clinical development and 20 more in preclinical development. The two already had a collaboration around filgotinib, Galapagos’ lead drug candidate, which has completed a Phase III study in rheumatoid arthritis. The deal announced last week also amended that agreement to give Galapagos greater involvement in filgotinib’s commercialization in Europe and global strategy. The companies plan to file for regulatory approval in the U.S. and Europe before the end of the year.
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Photo: Novartis
