Valeant and Metabasis complete Schering-Plough licensing deal

Valeant Pharmaceuticals and Metabasis Therapeutics have this week announced that they have closed their licensing agreement with Schering-Plough for the development and commercialisation of pradefovir.

The companies signed a definitive agreement for development and commercialisation rights to the anti-viral compound that makes use of HepDirect technology from Metabasis to enhance the concentration of the drug in the liver.

Pradefovir is currently undergoing clinical trials to assess its safety and efficacy in the treatment of patients suffering from chronic forms of hepatitis B.

This deal was subject to standard closing conditions and the expiration of specific regulatory waiting periods or their early close.

“This close follows the early termination by the US Federal Trade Commission of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act of 1976,” Valeant reports.

According to the agreement, Valiant will receive an initial licensing fee of $19.2 million (9.85 million pounds) from Schering-Plough, receiving a further $65 million on achieving development and regulatory landmarks.

Schering-Plough will also pay Metabasis an initial fee of $1.8 million, with a potential $25 million in milestone payments of landmarks are reached.

In April 2006, Schering-Plough made a number of presentations of clinical data related to its hepatits products at the European Association for the Study of the Liver.