The agreement gives Schering-Plough exclusive licence rights to develop, market and distribute the grass pollen allergy drug Grazax, as well as treatments for house dust mite allergy and ragweed allergy. The costs of clinical development, registration, marketing and sales will be paid by Schering-Plough. The tablets will be produced and supplied by Alk-Abello.
Under the agreement, Alk-Abello will receive an upfront payment and milestone payments relating to sales and regulatory events for the three tablet-based allergy immunotherapy compounds. The total value of all these potential payments could exceed $250 million, the company believes.
Jens Bager, CEO of Alk-Abello, said: “In our view, Schering-Plough is the ideal partner for us to introduce tablet based allergy immunotherapy to patients in the North American market. The company has vast experience with product development, not least in the area of allergy and respiratory diseases, and they hold a very strong market position on the North American continent.”