Novartis acquires Fanapt rights

Novartis has been granted the exclusive rights to market the schizophrenia drug Fanapt (iloperidone), an antipsychotic therapy that is scheduled to be launched in early 2010.

The rights to Fanapt have been acquired from Vanda Pharmaceuticals for an upfront payment of $200 million (126.6 million pounds) and further milestone and sales royalty payments will also be made.

Fanapt constitutes a class of medication for schizophrenia known as atypical antipsychotics.

Ludwig Hantson, a chief executive at Novartis, said: “With the launch of Fanapt in early 2010, we will broaden our presence in psychiatry and build on the heritage of Novartis in offering innovative treatments for devastating psychiatric diseases.”

Last week, Novartis was also granted the exclusive worldwide rights to the oral broad-spectrum antibiotic PTK 0796.

The treatment is currently in phase III testing and is a once-daily broad-spectrum antibiotic that can be given by intravenous infusion or oral tablet to treat a wide variety of life-threatening conditions.