US drugmaker Forest Laboratories has entered into a license agreement for the development and commercialization of small-molecule compounds discovered and developed by fellow USA-based TransTech Pharma, in a deal that could earn the latter over $1 billion. The compounds involved are functionally liver-selective glucokinase activators (GKAs), which represent a novel class of glucose-lowering agents for the treatment of diabetes.
The news comes less than two months since Forest dropped a $340 million deal signed in 2008 with Phenomix to develop an experimental diabetes drug, dutogliptin, despite the product meeting its primary goal of lowering HbA1c levels in Phase III. One of Forest's current lead products, Lexapro (escitalopram), is set to lose patent protection in 2012, meaning the company is looking for new products to fill the revenue gap that will be created
$50 million up front
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.
Login to your accountTry before you buy
7 day trial access
Become a subscriber
Or £77 per month
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
Copyright © The Pharma Letter 2024 | Headless Content Management with Blaze