Lilly returns Jakafi rights to Incyte, which now amends deal with Novartis

7 April 2016

Shares of Incyte Corp leapt 11.62% to $81.87 on Thursday, after the company announced that pharma major Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) had returned rights to develop and commercialize Jakafi (ruxolitinib) for use in the treatment of graft versus host disease (GVHD), allowing Incyte to enter an alternative accord for the drug.

Additionally, Incyte has amended its collaboration and license agreement with Novartis (NOVN: VX), granting the Swiss pharma giant exclusive research, development and commercialization rights for ruxolitinib in GVHD outside the USA.

In 2011, Jakafi was the first drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to specifically treat patients with the bone marrow disease myelofibrosis (MF). It was approved in Europe in 2012.

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