Protherics gets $10M from AstraZeneca

UK-based biopharmaceutical company Protherics says that it is due to receive a L10.0 million ($19.3 million) milestone from Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca, under the 2005 CytoFab (polyclonal ovine anti-TNF antibody fragments) licensing deal (Marketletters passim). The firm explained that this had been triggered by the successful scaling-up of the CytoFab manufacturing process to 600 liter per batch.

Protherics said that the payment, which it expects to receive in April for inclusion in its results for the financial year ending March 31, is in addition to the L16.3 million it has already earned from its collaboration with AstraZeneca. The firm added that, under the terms of the agreement, it may be entitled to a further L161.0 million, as well as 20% royalties on sales, assuming that the product is successfully commercialized.

The announcement follows the news late last year that AstraZeneca would, after talks with both the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency (EMEA), undertake an additional Phase II trial of the drug to confirm its safety and efficacy, prior to beginning Phase III studies in Europe, the USA and Japan (Marketletter November 13, 2006).