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news.Novartis has licensed rights from the British firm Arrow Therapeutics to develop and sell a small molecule inhibitor known as A60444 for the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus.
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Under the terms of the agreement, Novartis will undertake most of the further development and all commercialization activity for the compound which is currently undergoing phase II clinical trials. All future work on the project will be funded by Novartis.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major threat to the very young, the elderly and the immuno-compromised. At present there is no other effective treatment available for the disease.
Currently the only widely used intervention for RSV is MedImmune’s monoclonal antibody, Synagis. This drug is used to prevent infection in high risk infants rather than to treat the disease. Even though Synagis is only used by a small number of babies, sales of the drug have already reached blockbuster proportions.
Under the terms of the deal Arrow will receive an upfront payment of $10 million in addition to milestone payments of up to $217 million for success in the ongoing and future development and commercialization of the product. Rights to back up compounds to A60444 are included in the deal plus a right of first negotiation on follow-up compounds with different chemistry, currently under development by Arrow.
Ken Powell CEO of Arrow said “A-60444 is a first-in-class product for the treatment of RSV. This is an area of high unmet medical need, and one which is gaining increasing recognition of its importance by the medical community. For Arrow in particular, the deal with Novartis is a validation of both our model and our R&D capability and I am very satisfied with the outcome.”