The exclusive license grants GCAT the right, through its Chinese joint venture with Tianjing Institute of Pharmaceutical Research, to clinically develop and commercialize elvucitabine in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. In phase 2 clinical trials, elvucitabine has demonstrated to be safe and well tolerated and to be efficacious in both HBV and HIV infected patients.
As per the agreement, GCAT, through a sublicense agreement with its Chinese joint venture, T & T Pharma, formed with Tianjing Institute of Pharmaceutical Research (TIPR), will assume all development and regulatory responsibility and associated costs for elvucitabine. Achillion will be eligible to receive development milestones and double-digit royalties on net sales in those territories.
Michael Kishbauch, president and chief executive officer of Achillion, said: “GCAT and the TIPR have a demonstrated track record of successfully developing therapeutics for these large Asian markets and we are quite pleased to enter this license agreement with them for China.
“This license is the first of a series of agreements we expect will allow elvucitabine to reach a large global market of patients with chronic HBV infection. With the addition of its demonstrated anti-HIV activity, elvucitabine can be an important compound for worldwide populations where therapies are currently unavailable and there remains significant demand for infectious disease products.”
Mark Tang, chairman of GCAT, said: “We are very excited about the potential benefits of this product for HBV patients, especially given the potential market size in China, where HBV is quite prevalent and remains an unmet medical need. With potentially a significant percentage of the population infected with HBV in these territories, we believe the market potential for elvucitabine in China is large. We look forward to a productive and profitable collaboration between Achillion, GCAT and our distinguished Chinese joint venture partner, TIPR.”