Canada-based pharmaceutical firm Anormed agreed to sell Fosrenol to Shire in 2004 in return for milestone payments after the drug was approved in relevant countries. The recent $3 million for approval in the UK comes a week after a $3 million payment for approval in Germany.
To date Anormed has received $19 million upon US and EU approvals. The company is eligible to receive a further $6 million payment to Anormed upon regulatory approval in Japan.
Fosrenol is a treatment for high phosphate levels in the blood, which occurs in patients undergoing dialysis as a result of chronic kidney failure.