Amersham gets rights to Bexxar in Europe

UK company Amersham Health (formerly Nycomed Amersham Imaging) hasnegotiated marketing rights to Corixa Corp's radioimmunotherapeutic for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Bexxar (tositumomab), in Europe. Bexxar is already under regulatory review in the USA for NHL patients who do not respond to or cannot tolerate chemotherapy, and Amersham says it plans to seek registration of the drug under a different trade name in Europe.

This is the second major deal between the two firms. In July, Corixa entered into an agreement to co-promote Amersham Health's Metastron (strontium-89 chloride injection) product for metastatic bone pain (Marketletter July 23).

Under the terms of the agreement, Amersham and Corixa will collaborate on the development of the drug in Europe, with Corixa handling clinical trials and Amersham responsible for manufacturing and sales. Specific financial terms have not been disclosed, but Amersham will purchase $15 million in Corixa stock as part of the transaction, in part at the conclusion of the deal and at various timepoints thereafter. In addition, Amersham will pay the US firm multimillion-dollar milestone payments on regulatory approvals and sales volume targets, as well as royalties on European sales.