STOCKHOLM, Sweden--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News: Medivir AB (STO:MVIRB) has today entered a licensing agreement with the Chinese pharmaceutical company Hainan Noken Pharmaceutical Industry Ltd in relation to the antiviral compound MIV-210. MIV-210 is a polymerase inhibitor and belongs to the group of projects which is administered by subsidiary Medivir HIV Franchise AB. Noken intends to develop MIV-210 to a pharmaceutical for the treatment of Hepatitis B Virus (HBV). An estimated 120 million Chinese are chronically infected with HBV and 30 million of these are at risk of the disease escalating to liver cancer and cirrhosis. The value of HBV drugs sold on the Chinese market was in excess of USD 1 billion in 2005. The licensing rights awarded to Noken provide for Noken assuming operational and financial responsibility for the clinical trials which will be required for registration of the ultimately developed drug. Noken has marketing rights for MIV-210 in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macao, Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Australia. Medivir retains marketing rights in other parts of the world. During the pharmaceutical development of MIV-210 Medivir may earn USD 7 million in milestone payments. Medivir is further entitled to a double-digit royalty on Noken’s future sales. “MIV-210 has demonstrated very high potency against HBV in preclinical trials to date, and showed good pharmacokinetic properties in phase I clinical trials. It furthermore shows an additive effect when combined with those drugs currently marketed for HBV” stated Professor Bo Öberg, CEO of Medivir HIV Franchise AB. “In-licensing of MIV-210 is strategically important for the rapidly growing Noken Pharmaceutical”, says Xu Ying-Ting, CEO and Member of the Board of Hainan Noken Pharmaceutical Industry Ltd.
