Under the terms of the agreement, Novartis is granted world-wide exclusive rights for the vaccine CYT002-NicQb and is responsible for late stage clinical development, manufacturing, and commercialization of the vaccine.
In return, Cytos Biotechnology is eligible to receive up to approximately $500 million in milestone payments based on the successful development and commercialization of CYT002-NicQb. The upfront payment by Novartis will be approximately $29 million. In addition, Cytos Biotechnology will receive royalty payments on net sales of products.
“The vaccine market, including therapeutic vaccines, represents an increasingly attractive segment of the healthcare market and is an additional source of growth for large pharmaceutical companies,” commented Dr Mark Dyer, EVP Business Development of Cytos Biotechnology.
A phase I and a phase II trial have demonstrated that CYT002-NicQb has a favorable safety profile and is generally well tolerated and that it promoted and sustained long-term abstinence from smoking, when high antibody levels have been achieved upon vaccination.