Valeant licenses Canada rights to Xyrem

Jazz Pharmaceuticals has signed an agreement licensing the Canadian marketing rights for its oral drug Xyrem (sodium oxybate) to fellow USA-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals. The agreement calls for Valeant to make an upfront payment to Jazz, as well as further payments based on future sales.

The firm noted that Xyrem is the first and only product approved in Canada to treat cataplexy, which is a sudden loss of muscle tone associated with narcolepsy. Valeant expects to launch and distribute the agent in Canada in mid-2007 through its neurology sales force.

Last year, Palo Alto, California-headquartered Jazz expanded its Xyrem product license agreement with Belgian drugmaker UCB (Marketletter October 9, 2006). Under the deal, UCB obtains the right to commercialize the treatment for fibromyalgia syndrome, if and when the product is approved for this indication. Jazz markets the agent in the USA.