Under the terms of the two agreements, Dyax is eligible to receive up to $500 million in license fees and milestone payments in the case of full commercial success of the first five antibody candidates, including DX-2240. Dyax will receive $25 million in 2008. In addition, Dyax is eligible to receive royalties based on commercial sales of DX-2240 and other antibodies developed by Sanofi-aventis.
As exclusive licensee, Sanofi-aventis will be responsible for the ongoing development, commercialization and consolidation of sales of DX-2240. DX-2240 is a fully human monoclonal antibody that targets the Tie-1 receptor on tumor blood vessels and has therapeutic potential in numerous oncology indications. For certain other future antibody product candidates discovered by sanofi-aventis, Dyax will retain co-development and profit sharing rights, while Sanofi-aventis will maintain the leadership in development and commercialization, and book sales worldwide.
Henry Blair, chairman, president and CEO of Dyax, said: “Sanofi-aventis’s license to our phage display technology, combined with Dyax’s co-development rights, has significant potential to expand our pipeline of product candidates.”