Ipsen gains certain rights to Exelixis' cabozantinib in multimillion dollar deal

1 March 2016

US biotech firm Exelixis (Nasdaq EXEL) and French drugmaker Ipsen (Euronext: IPN) have entered into an exclusive licensing agreement for the commercialization and further development of cabozantinib, Exelixis’ lead oncology drug.

Shares of Exelixis jumped nearly 12% to $4.07 in after-hours trading yesterday when the deal was announced. Ipsen gained 0.89 euros to 53.02 euros, but was down 5.9% at 49.87 euros this morning.

Under the accord, Ipsen will have exclusive commercialization rights for current and potential future cabozantinib indications outside of the USA, Canada and Japan. This agreement includes rights to Cometriq (cabozantinib), which is currently approved in the European Union for the treatment of adult patients with progressive, unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic medullary thyroid cancer (MTC), but revenues have been modest, with less than $10 million sales in the fourth quarter of 2015.

This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free. A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here.

Try before you buy

Free

7 day trial access

Take a Free Trial

All the news that moves the needle in pharma and biotech
Exclusive features, podcasts, interviews, data analyses and commentary from our global network of life sciences reporters.
Receive The Pharma Letter daily news bulletin, free forever.

Become a subscriber

£820

Or £77 per month

Subscribe Now

Unfettered access to industry-leading news, commentary and analysis in pharma and biotech.
Updates from clinical trials, conferences, M&A, licensing, financing, regulation, patents & legal, executive appointments, commercial strategy and financial results.
Daily roundup of key events in pharma and biotech.
Monthly in-depth briefings on Boardroom appointments and M&A news.
Choose from a cost-effective annual package or a flexible monthly subscription

The Pharma Letter is an extremely useful and valuable Life Sciences service that brings together a daily update on performance people and products. It’s part of the key information for keeping me informed

Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK