Nice deal, indeed nice deal for VRTX!
Definitely strong leadership in ICE inhibitors.
Miljenko
Wednesday September 1, 3:02 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated
Hoechst Marion Roussel and Vertex Expand Agreement to Develop Novel Anti-Inflammatory Compounds
FRANKFURT, Germany and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Hoechst Marion Roussel, the pharmaceutical company of Hoechst AG (NYSE: HOE - news), and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX - news) announced today that they have signed an expanded agreement covering HMR 3480/VX-740, an orally active inhibitor of interleukin-1 beta converting enzyme (ICE), as well as all other compounds discovered under a previous collaboration. HMR 3480/VX-740 is being developed as a possible therapy for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and other inflammatory diseases. The agreement is subject to U.S. government approval under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.
Under the terms of this agreement, Hoechst Marion Roussel will hold an exclusive worldwide license to develop, manufacture and market HMR 3480/VX-740, as well as an exclusive option for all other compounds discovered under a previous research collaboration. Hoechst Marion Roussel will pay Vertex $20 million in license fees in connection with prior research. Hoechst Marion Roussel will also pay Vertex up to $62 million for the successful development of HMR 3480/VX-740 in rheumatoid arthritis, the first targeted indication. Hoechst Marion Roussel has retained the rights to develop HMR 3480/VX-740 for additional indications and Vertex will receive similar milestones for each additional indication.
Hoechst Marion Roussel will fund development of HMR 3480/VX-740. Vertex will co-promote the product in the United States and Europe and will receive royalties on global sales, as well as a co-promotion royalty and reimbursement of its co-promotion costs.
A Phase I clinical trial was recently completed with HMR 3480/VX-740, and a Phase II trial in patients with rheumatoid arthritis is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 1999. HMR 3480/VX-740 is an orally active small molecule inhibitor of ICE, a key mediator in the inflammatory cascade which regulates production of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1 beta and IL-18. The start of clinical development in at least one additional indication is anticipated in 2000.
''We are pleased that HMR 3480/VX-740 is the first ICE inhibitor to enter clinical development,'' said Frank L. Douglas, executive vice president and head of Drug Innovation and Approval for Hoechst Marion Roussel. ''As a highly selective oral inhibitor of interleukin-1 production, this novel compound has the potential to provide therapeutic benefits for patients with a range of painful and debilitating inflammatory diseases including rheumatoid arthritis.''
''This agreement provides significant benefits for both companies, by expanding Hoechst Marion Roussel's development and marketing rights to HMR 3480/VX-740 while preserving for Vertex an important role in development and commercialization,'' said Richard H. Aldrich, Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer of Vertex. ''Our research collaboration was very successful, and we look forward to a continued productive partnership with Hoechst Marion Roussel. If our goal of successfully developing and commercializing HMR 3480/VX-740 for three indications is achieved, this agreement has a potential pre-commercial value of $206 million in milestone payments and license fees for Vertex.''
Vertex and Hoechst Marion Roussel began collaborating in 1993 to discover and develop orally available inhibitors of ICE. Their intensive design efforts were based on the three-dimensional atomic structure of ICE, solved by Vertex researchers in 1994. As the result of an extensive, jointly conducted synthesis and research program, HMR 3480/VX-740 was selected as a development candidate in 1996. In 1998, HMR 3480/VX-740 became the first inhibitor of ICE to enter clinical development.
As part of today's agreement, Hoechst Marion Roussel will also retain rights to all compounds discovered as part of the research collaboration that ended in 1997. Vertex will continue its ongoing second-generation ICE inhibitor drug discovery program, and Vertex retains the exclusive right to develop new clinical candidates from that program.
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