Advanz Pharma gets rights to Allecra antibiotic

UK-based specialty pharma company Advanz Pharma and French biopharma firm Allecra Therapeutics have signed an exclusive license agreement under which Advanz Pharma gains the rights to develop and commercialize Allecra’s antibiotic drug candidate cefepime/enmetazobactam within the European Union, the UK, Switzerland, and Norway.

In exchange for the exclusive license, Allecra will receive an undisclosed upfront payment and development and sales milestones for cefepime/enmetazobactam, as well as double-digit tiered royalties.  In addition, the two companies have signed a supply agreement under which Allecra will supply the cefepime/enmetazobactam finished product in the agreed upon territories. No further financial details have been disclosed.

“Advanz Pharma is building a leadership position in Europe as a specialty pharmaceutical company and they are an ideal commercialization partner for Allecra as we advance toward regulatory submission for cefepime/enmetazobactam,” stated Andreas Kranzusch, chief financial officer at Allecra Therapeutics. “This agreement, together with our license agreement with Shanghai Haini for commercialization in China, reflects the understanding that there remains a need worldwide to address the dangerous increase of resistance to standard-of-care antibiotics. The pandemic has only heightened this awareness,” he added.