Abbott and Biotest in up to $480 million deal for novel autoimmune diseases antibody

US health care major Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) has entered a global agreement with Germany’s Biotest AG to develop and commercialize BT-061, a novel anti-CD4 antibody for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriasis. BT-061 is currently in Phase II clinical trials for RA and psoriasis, with preclinical studies underway to study its potential use in other immune-related diseases.

Under the terms of the deal, Biotest will receive an upfront fee of $85 million. Pending achievement of certain development, regulatory, commercial and sales-based milestones, Biotest would be eligible to receive additional milestones from Abbott, potentially amounting to a total of $395 million, and royalties. Biotest, which recently agreed to sell its microbiology business to fellow Germany-based Merck KGaA (The Pharma Letter March 23), will be responsible for manufacturing the initial clinical supply of BT-061 and the companies will share responsibility for commercial production.

Co-promotion in main European markets