Under the terms, the royalties paid by Ipsen until July, 2010 will remain unchanged. After this date, Ipsen will continue to pay royalties on its sales of all formulations of Decapeptyl, an injection for the treatment of advanced metastatic prostate cancer.
Ipsen and Debiopharm will share development costs of the six month formulation once it is approved in one major country in Europe. Ipsen will thereafter exclusively purchase Decapeptyl (triptorelin pamoate) six month from Debiopharm’s development and production facility in Martigny, Switzerland, while the royalty rate for the entire franchise will stand in the mid-single digit range.
The agreement will last for a minimum of five years, with a two year termination period, after the patent expiry of the current marketed formulations in July 2010. It further enables Ipsen to access future sustained-release formulations of Decapeptyl developed by Debiopharm, among which a six-month sustained release formulation that has completed Phase III clinical trials and is expected to be filed by Debiopharm in 2008.