Myriad buys Panacos' bevirimat for $7M

Panacos Pharmaceuticals says that fellow USA-based Myriad Pharmaceuticals has bought the rights and assets to bevirimat for a  single upfront payment of $7.0 million. The acquisition includes patents  and patent applications related to the mid-stage HIV drug candidate,  product inventory, rights to regulatory filings and various contracts.  The first-in-class maturation inhibitor, discovered by Panacos'  scientists and their academic collaborators, is one of the compounds in  its antiviral portfolio. The firm says it will retain 10 US patents and  12 US patent applications (as well as all foreign counterparts) relating  to its second- and third-generation maturation inhibitor program, its  oral fusion program and proprietary screening assays. Company chief  executive Alan Dunton said the sale of bevirimat will help Panacos "to  manage capital resources in the current market environment."