Gross proceeds from the sale totaled $55m, while InterMune is eligible to gain a two-year royalty stream based on net sales of Actimmune.
InterMune chairman, chief executive officer and president Dan Welch said, "The cash infusion from this transaction combined with $377.2 million of existing cash and cash equivalents at the end of Q1 2012, and our new estimates for lower operating expenses in 2012, will provide additional financial flexibility as we launch Esbriet (pirfenidone) in Europe and work to make the medicine available to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients in the United States and in other countries."
Actimmune is a synthesized version of interferon gamma, a naturally occurring protein believed to stimulate the immune system.