Under the terms of the agreement, Sciele will have the worldwide marketing rights for ADX415, will pay the product development costs, and will also make regulatory milestone payments and royalty payments to Addrenex on product sales.
Sciele and Addrenex expect to begin the Phase II clinical studies in the second half of 2008.
Ed Schutter, president and COO of Sciele Pharma, said, “This agreement further expands our relationship with Addrenex and provides the company with a product in Phase II clinical development, expanding our pipeline beyond 2010. This is the first new chemical entity that will be developed by Sciele. We are optimistic about the potential of ADX415 for the treatment of hypertension.”