Biogen Idec sells royalty rights to Benlysta

Biogen Idec has announced the sale of its royalty and other rights relating to Benlysta, a US and European-approved systemic lupus erythematosus therapy.

A DRI Capital-managed fund has paid an initial fee of $18.3 million (11.43 million pounds) to cover the royalty period from October 1st 2011 to March 30th 2012, in exchange for the transfer of rights to ongoing payments from Human Genome Sciences and Glaxo Group.

DRI will pay Biogen Idec a multiple of certain of the royalties received for the period covering October 2011 to September 2014, following which it will receive all further payments associated with sales of Benlysta.

By selling off these rights, Biogen Idec will be able to support its ongoing research and development and commercial investments at a time when it is preparing to launch a number of important new products.

Steven Holtzman, executive vice-president for corporate development at Biogen Idec, said: "The sale of our Benlysta royalty and other rights allows us to accelerate payments that would otherwise have been spread over a longer time period."

During the second quarter of 2012, the company saw its revenues rise by 18 percent year over year to reach $1.4 billion.