Biovail Inks License Agreement With Kyowa Hakko Kirin

BLS has acquired the US and Canadian rights to commercialise products containing istradefylline, a new chemical entity targeted for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.

As per the terms of the agreement, BLS has paid an upfront fee of $10m, and could pay up to $20m in potential development milestones through FDA approval and up to an additional $35m if certain sales-based milestones are met.

BLS is also expected to make tiered, royalty payments of up to 30% on net commercial sales of products containing istradefylline. In connection with this transaction, BLS has also entered into a supply agreement with Kyowa Hakko Kirin for the supply of istradefylline.

BLS will be seeking a meeting with the FDA in the near term to discuss istradefylline’s development path forward.

Bill Wells, CEO of Biovail, said: “This transaction again highlights our focus on late-stage specialty central nervous system products. Istradefylline represents a novel approach for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and provides another building block within our development pipeline, which now has four programs targeting unmet medical needs in Parkinson’s disease.”