Meda and Cipla have expanded the existing long term collaboration agreement for the combination of azelastine and fluticasone. Azelastine is an antihistamine and fluticasone a corticosteroid, indicated for nasal treatment of allergic rhinitis.
In collaboration with Cipla, Meda has been developing the combination for the North American markets during the past years. The product is currently in phase III and the remaining clinical studies are expected to be completed during the second half of 2010.
Reportedly, Meda and Cipla have now agreed to extend the collaboration to include other key markets such as Europe, Japan, Brazil, South Korea and Australia. Meda will pay Cipla $5m upon regulatory approval in the first market and up to $10m as other milestone payments. Cipla will manufacture the product.
Anders Lonner, CEO Meda, said: “This product could become the first combination of an antihistamine and corticosteroid in a nasal formulation. I’m delighted that we have expanded our rights to this product.”