Atrix' $50M Alliance With Block Drug

US firms Atrix Laboratories and Block Drug have entered into anagreement which includes potential milestone payments in excess of $50 million to Atrix over the next three to five years, as well as manufacturing margins and royalties on sales.

Under the terms of the deal, Block will gain North American and certain European marketing rights to the first three Atrix products for the treatment of periodontal disease. The first is Atrisorb Barrier for Guided Tissue Regeneration, which received US marketing approval in March 1996. Another is Atridox, a subgingival anti-infective for the treatment of periodontal disease, now the subject of a New Drug Application in the USA and with European filing expected early this year. The third is a second-generation GTR barrier, which will begin pivotal human clinical trials in 1997. Atrix will manufacture the products for Block to market and sell.