Chiron and Enanta sign hepatitis drug deal

Under the arrangement Enanta has been granted a non-exclusive license to Chiron’s hepatitis C virus (HCV) technology to further enable the research and development of HCV therapeutics.

Enanta will make pre-commercial payments upon the achievement of development milestones and pay royalties on commercial sales. Chiron will retain certain co-development and commercialization opt-in rights worldwide, excluding Asia. The financial terms of the arrangement have not been disclosed.

“Through this agreement with Chiron, a leader in the field of HCV research, we will accelerate the advancement of novel therapeutics for HCV and strengthen our growing pipeline of novel anti-infective drugs that address significant unmet medical needs worldwide,” stated Jay Luly, president and CEO of Enanta.

Chiron retains over 100 long-running patents related to the HCV genome. This has prohibited much research in the area as companies wishing develop drugs targeting the HCV virus require a license from Chiron before commencing any work. Chiron has previously been accused of slowing the progress of HCV drug development by its stringent enforcement of patent rights. The new licensing agreement will allow research in the area of HCV to progress.

Dr Kenneth Bair, senior vice president, head of BioPharmaceuticals research at Chiron said: “Our agreement with Enanta allows us to fulfill our commitment to the development of HCV therapeutics. Chiron has collaborated with Enanta in the field of HCV protease research in the past, and we are pleased to license our portfolio to a company that has demonstrated the potential to make great strides in the research and development of HCV protease therapeutics.”