Ipsen returns rights to Parkinson's drug to Santhera

Switzerland’s Santhera Pharmaceuticals (SIX:SANN) and French drugmaker Ipsen (Euronext: IPN) have renegotiated their fipamezole licensing agreement, with Santhera regaining the worldwide rights to the development and commercialization of fipamezole, its first-in-class selective adrenergic alpha-2 receptor antagonist for the management of levodopa-induced dyskinesia in Parkinson's disease.

Under the renegotiated terms, Ipsen returns its rights for territories outside of North America and Japan in exchange for milestone payments and royalties based on future partnering and commercial success of fipamezole. Ipsen retains a call option for worldwide license to the program under certain conditions.

Thomas Meier, chief executive of Santhera, commented: "Under the agreement reached with Ipsen, Santhera has regained global marketing rights for fipamezole, which we can further develop in line with the company's strategy. In the short term, the focus of our investments remains on our lead product Catena [idebenone] and its multiple product opportunities in neuromuscular and mitochondrial orphan indications. However, fipamezole continues to be a valuable asset in Santhera's late-stage clinical pipeline."