Astellas and Ironwood forge licensing agreement for linaclotide

Astellas and Ironwood have reached an agreement to provide the former company with the exclusive rights to develop and commercialise linaclotide.

The investigational compound is currently undergoing phase III trials for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation and chronic constipation.

As part of the contract, Astellas will pay $75 million (44.9 million pounds) to Ironwood for commercial milestones made, which includes a licensing fee of $30 million and escalating royalties on the sales of linaclotide.

Masafumi Nogimori, president and chief executive officer of the firm, stated: “I strongly believe that Astellas will maximise the potential product value of linaclotide with our proven capabilities.”

Meanwhile, last month Astellas and Theravance submitted a marketing authorisation application to the European Medicines Agency for the drug telavancin.

The bactericidal injectable lipogly copeptide antibiotic is used to treat nosocomial pneumonia, ventilator-associated pneumonia and complicated skin and soft tissue infections.