Genmab achieves first sales-based milestone from Darzalex

Denmark-based biotech firm Genmab (OMX: GEN) says that it has received its first sales volume milestone payment relating to its collaboration on Darzalex (daratumumab) with Janssen, a subsidiary of US healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson.

The $25 million milestone was triggered by sales of Darzalex reaching $500 million in a calendar year. In August 2012, Genmab granted Janssen Biotech, an exclusive worldwide license to develop, manufacture and commercialize Darzalex.

The drug was approved in the USA in November 2015 under an accelerated approval program, when it became the first monoclonal antibody (MAb) to receive US Food and Drug Administration approval to treat multiple myeloma. It gained conditional approval in the European Union in May 2016, and was filed for Japanese approval in December.