Biovitrum enters Nordic BeneFIX co-promo deal

Stockholm, Sweden-based Biovitrum has entered into a new agreement with US drug major Wyeth to co-promote BeneFIX, coagulation factor IX (recombinant) for hemophilia B, in the Nordic nations - Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

Under the terms of the deal, Biovitrum will receive a commission on BeneFIX sales, including an additional incentive if certain targets are exceeded, for a period of up to five years, with possible one-year extensions thereafter.

The agent uses recombinant DNA technology to replace clotting factor IX to stop or prevent bleeding in people with hemophilia B who do not have enough factor IX of their own. Hemophilia B is a rare, inherited blood-clotting disorder. Sufferers are deficient in factor IX which is vital in the clotting mechanism to prevent bleeding. Hemophilia B is characterized by spontaneous hemorrhages or prolonged bleeding, typically into joints and soft tissue. Patients with hemophilia B are dependent on protein replacement therapy with factor IX. Wyeth assumed all marketing and distribution rights to BeneFIX in Europe, following the planned June 30 conclusion of a 10-year distribution deal between Baxter Healthcare and Genetics Institute, which Wyeth acquired in 1996.