Avanir to promote Merck's diabetes drug Januvia

13 August 2013

US drugmaker Avanir Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: AVNR) has entered into an exclusive agreement with US drug major Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) to co-promote Merck's type 2 diabetes therapies Januvia (sitagliptin) and the sitagliptin family of products in the long-term care institutional setting in the USA, beginning in October.

Under the terms of this agreement, Avanir will be compensated via a fixed fee plus an incentive-based payment. Merck will continue to remain responsible for the promotion of the sitagliptin range in all other settings and will remain responsible for all other aspects of research, manufacturing and marketing.

According to a recent regulatory filing, Avanir said that it could get up to $60 million from Merck over the three years, from a fixed monthly fee and performance fee, reported the Chicago Tribune. The company’s share leapt 11% to $4.50 in post market trading on Monday.

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