Biogen and Biovitrum update hemophilia agreement; MorphoSys and Galapagos expand accord

US biotech firm Biogen Idec and Stockholm-based Biovitrum (now called Swedish Orphan Biovitrum since completion of the merger between the two Swedish groups in January) have restructured the collaboration agreement for the companies' long-acting, recombinant Factor VIII Fc fusion protein (rFVIIIFc) in hemophilia A patients and the recombinant Factor IX Fc fusion protein (rFIXFc) in hemophilia B patients.

Under the amended deal, Biogen will assume full development responsibilities and costs, as well as manufacturing rights for the rFVIIIFc and rFIXFc programs. It also gains marketing responsibility for the rest-of-world territories that had previously been shared between the two companies, in addition to its existing commercial rights in North America. Biovitrum will retain commercial rights in Europe, Russia, Turkey and the Middle East. The cross-royalty rate has been reduced for both companies and will be further adjusted until Biogen's increased costs are reimbursed.

'Biogen Idec's clinical and manufacturing expertise, combined with its global commercial organization, continue to make it an ideal partner for us in the hemophilia disease area, an area with high medical needs,' said Martin Nicklasson, chief executive of Swedish Orphan Biovitrum. 'Additionally, we will now be able to focus on delivering value in the rest of our exciting and promising development pipeline and current commercial product portfolio, while improving our near term cost-base," he added.