February 17, 2015
By Riley McDermid, BioSpace.com Breaking News Sr. Editor
Israeli company Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced Tuesday that it has entered into a $120 million licensing agreement that will allow it to distribute and promote a competitor to its own cancer drug, Eagle Pharmaceuticals ‘s EP-3102.
The news pushed Eagle’s stock up over 13.8 percent in morning trading Tuesday.
Eagle’s non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma drug EP-3102 competes directly with Teva’s Treanda, because both drugs target chronic lymphocytic leukemia. However, because EP-3102 is delivered via infusion, it is easier and faster to administer.
The two companies said they will now settle a patent infringement lawsuit that had been brewing between them in U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.
Under the terms of the deal, Teva will shell out $30 million in cash, which will be followed by $90 million in additional milestone payments and double- digit royalties on sales. Teva will handle all regulatory approvals and both the costs and logistics associated with running clinical trials.
“With a substantially shorter infusion time [than Treanda], Eagle‘s rapid infusion bendamustine HCl represents an important and improved benefit to both patients and healthcare providers,” said Paul Rittman, vice president of oncology, in a statement.
Teva also said Tuesday it will now waive its orphan-drug exclusivities for two diseases that EP-3102 also targets, a move which will put it in front of consumers much more quickly.
Eagle already has submitted a new drug application for EP-3102, a rapid infusion bendamustine product for the treatment of patients with CLL and patients with indolent B-cell NHL that has progressed during or within six months of treatment with rituximab or a rituximab-containing regimen, to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Because of its efficacy in clinical trials, it had requested priority review, a nice boost for a product which has already received orphan-drug designation the seven years of patent exclusivity that go with that demarcation.
Separately, the companies said they will settle a pending patent-infringement action between them in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.
“We are very pleased to partner with Teva for the commercialization of our rapid infusion bendamustine product,” said Scott Tarriff, president and CEO of Eagle Pharmaceuticals. “Given their strong presence and unsurpassed knowledge of this market, we believe there is no better company than Teva to optimize the market potential of this product.”
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