Maruho enters licence deal with Journey Medical for Qbrexza

Under the agreement, Maruho will be responsible for the development and commercialisation of Qbrexza in South Korea, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Singapore, Taiwan, and Laos (the Territory).

Journey Medical co-founder, president and CEO Claude Maraoui said: “As Journey Medical continues to expand its out-licensing efforts globally, we are delighted to work with Maruho to further expand the reach of Qbrexza (Rapifort) to address the unmet need of patients suffering from hyperhidrosis in the expanded territories.

“Maruho has successfully commercialised Qbrexza (Rapifort) in Japan, bolstering our confidence in Maruho’s ability to bring this novel product to the broader region.

“We look forward to making this innovative, effective and well-tolerated product more accessible to patients who suffer from hyperhidrosis.”

Maruho will make a nonrefundable upfront payment of $19m to Journey Medical and is responsible for all development and commercialisation costs for the programme throughout the Territory.

In addition, both the companies entered into an amendment of their existing licence agreement.

The amendment includes modifications that reduce certain royalty and milestone obligations payable to Journey Medical.

As per the amendment, Journey Medical will receive certain milestones payments of up to $45m.

Hyperhidrosis is a condition of excessive sweating that impedes daily activities resulting in occupational, emotional, psychological, social and physical impairment.