$20 million lixisenatide milestone for Zealand Pharma

Danish peptide drug discovery firm Zealand Pharma (Nasdaq OMX Copenhagen: ZEAL) says it will receive a milestone payment of $20 million from French drug major Sanofi (Euronext: SAN) following the successful completion of the global GetGoal Phase III clinical trial program for lixisenatide (proposed trade name Lyxumia).

Lixisenatide is a once-daily investigational GLP-1 agonist for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, invented by Zealand Pharma and licensed to Sanofi. The drug candidate has been assessed by Sanofi in the GetGoal program, which involved more than 4,500 patients with type 2 diabetes.

On February 8, Zealand Pharma announced positive top-line results reported by Sanofi from the GetGoal-P Phase III study, showing that lixisenatide significantly improved blood glucose levels (HbA1c). Further studies are expected to report in 2012. Throughout the GetGoal Phase III program, lixisenatide has delivered positive results, supporting the efficacy and safety of the drug as a monotherapy, in combination with oral anti-diabetes drugs and in combination with basal insulin, the company noted.