Pharmaceutical Business review

Orexo and NovaMed sign licensing and distribution agreement

The terms of the agreement includes an upfront payment, regulatory milestones and sales milestones. The total value of the upfront payment and milestones are $4.75 million.

In addition, Orexo will supply NovaMed with Abstral in China and will receive margins on the sales of the product if approved. NovaMed will be responsible for managing the regulatory approval process including clinical studies, which is a standard requirement in China.

Abstral is a fast-dissolving tablet for sub-lingual administration of fentanyl, intended for the management of breakthrough cancer pain in patients who are already receiving opioid analgesics.

Torbjn Bjerke, president and CEO of Orexo, said: With the strong and superior benefits Abstral brings to sufferers from pain associated with cancer, we believe that NovaMed will be able to help physicians treat an increasing number of Chinese patients with this debilitating condition.