Salix Pharma and Norway-based specialty pharmaceutical company Photocure have entered into an agreement under which the two companies will collaborate in the development and commercialisation of Lumacan.
Lumacan contains hexamiolevulinate, which is marketed in Europe for the detection of bladder cancer under the trademark Hexvix.
The financial terms of the transaction are weighted on the successful regulatory approval and subsequent commercial success of Lumacan, with potential milestone payments totaling $126.5m.
Under the contract, Photocure expects to get a sum of $4m as an upfront fee from the Salix Pharma including the royalties on net sales and non-US sublicense revenue.
Further, Salix Pharma will control and fund the worldwide development, registration and commercialisation activities for Lumacan and Photocure will fund up to $3m of formulation development activities.
Salix Pharma president and CEO Carolyn Logan said that after further development and, if approved by the FDA, Lumacan has the potential to improve the earlier detection and diagnosis of colon cancer, with the possibility to innovate the way in which colorectal cancer screening is conducted today.