Progenics Pharma grants rights to Salix for Relistor, in upfront $60 million and potential $290 million more deal

Progenics Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: PGNX) has entered into an exclusive worldwide license agreement (except Japan, where Ono Pharmaceuticals has rights) with fellow USA-based Salix Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: SLXP) for Relistor (methylnaltrexone bromide).

Financial terms of the transaction include $60 million up-front and development milestones totaling $90 million, contingent upon the achievement of certain US regulatory milestones. Salix will also pay sales-based milestones of up to $200 million plus royalties on product sales in the USA, as well as 60% of all revenue received from non-US sublicensees. Salix will fund all development, registration and commercialization activities for Relistor in markets worldwide other than in Japan.

Relistor is a peripherally acting mu-opioid receptor antagonist that counteracts the constipating effects of opioid pain medications in the gastrointestinal tract without affecting their ability to relieve pain. The methylnaltrexone license includes intellectual property from the University of Chicago, Progenics and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (now part of Pfizer), including patents and applications with expiration dates that will range from 2017 through 2031. The drug was approved in the USA in 2008, and is currently cleared for use in over 50 countries worldwide. In 2010, Relistor single-use, pre-filled syringes were approved for use in the USA, Canada and the European Union, with net global sales reaching $16 million that year.