Vical receives $1M Collategene milestone

US drugmaker Vical has received a further $1.0 million cash payment from its partner, Japan's AnGes MG, related to the Collategene angiogenesis program.

The firm received an initial upfront payment of the same amount under an exclusive license agreement in 2005, and further advancement may lead to additional milestones and royalty payments. In March, AnGes filed for marketing approval with the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare for the use of Collategene as a treatment for critical limb ischemia, an advanced form of peripheral arterial disease, and for Buerger's disease (Marketletter April 7).

Vical estimates that more than 10 million people in the USA have PAD, a common circulatory problem in which narrowed arteries reduce the blood flow to the limbs. Early symptoms of PAD include intermittent claudication, which is caused by ischemia. Approximately 25% of ischemic patients will progress to develop CLI, which is associated with pain at rest and ulcers, and frequently requires amputation. The health care burden in the USA associated with amputations is estimated to be greater than $10.0 billion per year.