Bayer HealthCare pays milestone fee to Maxygen

Bayer HealthCare will pay a milestone fee of $30 million (18.86 million pounds) to Maxygen as part of the development of a haemophilia treatment.

The fee has been paid based on the successful progression of clinical development for the recombinant factor VIIa product candidate, while certain patent-related conditions have also been satisfied.

Previously designated as Maxy-VII, the drug was originally developed by Maxygen and sold to Bayer HealthCare in July 2008 – along with all of the company's other haematology assets – for an upfront fee of $90 million.

Maxygen is no longer eligible for any further payments relating to these assets and has welcomed receipt of the full fee from Bayer as a positive development in its efforts to improve shareholder value.

James Sulat, chief executive officer of Maxygen, said: "We congratulate our colleagues at Bayer for this achievement and are pleased to see a programme originally developed by Maxygen continue in clinical development."

Last month, figures from the Bayer group's latest financial statement revealed that Bayer HealthCare saw a first-quarter sales increase of 4.2 percent on a year-over-year basis.