Tuesday, 28 August 2007
Joint Ventures, Partnerships and Alliances with Big Pharma (recent alliance updates can be found here):
Bristol-Myers Squibb Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Holding Partnership – This partnership sells and markets Plavix®. In 2006, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Holding Partnership sold in excess of $3.5 billion of Plavix® in the United States. Also in 2006, the Canadian generic company Apotex challenged the validity of the Plavix Patent (and was able to make use of a loophole to ship a potential $2 billion worth of the medication at greatly reduced prices). Courts in the United States and Canada ruled against Apotex, and as of now, the '265 patent (plavix patent) is exclusively licensed to the Bristol-Myers Squibb Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Holding Partnership until 2011. (updated August 2007)
Bristol-Myers Squibb, Gilead Sciences and Merck & Co.– Atripla™ (efavirenz 600 mg/ emtricitabine 200 mg/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg) – According to Reuters.com, "Atripla is a fixed-dose combination of Gilead's anti-HIV medications, Viread and Emtriva, and Bristol Myers-Squibb Company's Sustiva (efavirenz). Atripla™ is approved for commercial sale only in the United States. [Gilead] sells Atripla through its joint venture with BMS, Bristol Myers-Squibb & Gilead Sciences, LLC, in the United States through the wholesale channel. The Sustiva component of Atripla™ is licensed to the joint venture by BMS. Gilead filed for marketing approval of Atripla™ in the European Union with BMS and Merck & Co., Inc. (Merck) in October 2006, through a three-way joint venture formed by the three companies."
Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer – apixaban – In April 2007, these two companies entered into a collaboration to develop and commercialize an anticoagulant compound called apixaban, and seperately agreed to research, develop, and market metabolic compounds which could potentially be used to treat obesity and diabetes.
Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca have partnered to develop and commercialize two compounds to treat diabetes. These compounds, saxagliptin and dapagliflozin, are currently in development. According to the Bristol-Myers Squibb press release, "The collaboration on these compounds is worldwide, except for Japan…Terms of the agreements include an upfront payment of $100 million by AstraZeneca to Bristol-Myers Squibb…Bristol-Myers Squibb may also receive additional payments of up to $650 million based on development and regulatory milestones for the two compounds. In addition, potential sales milestones up to $300 million per product are also possible."
Bristol-Myers Squibb entered into an exclusive licensing agreement for saxagliptin in Japan with Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. in December 2006. Also in December 2006, these two companies launched an antipsychotic called ABILIFY® (Aripiprazole).
Bristol-Myers Squibb and Novartis strategic alliance for Zelmac™. This collaboration included two Bristol-Myers Squibb biologics still in development and, according to Bristol-Myers Squibb, "the combined Novartis and Bristol-Myers Squibb field force effort will focus on establishing Zelmac's therapeutic value among physicians." – Oct. 18, 2000.
Bristol-Myers Squibb and Millennium – BMS entered into a strategic alliance with a majority-owned subsidiary of Millennium Pharmaceuticals to work in the emerging field of cancer pharmacogenomics, using genetic information to develop new anticancer therapies. According to Millennium, "During the five-year term of the alliance, Bristol-Myers Squibb will provide [Millennium] with $32 million in license fees, annual fees, and research funding…This is believed to be one of the largest pharmacogenomic alliances to date." Nov. 11, 1999.
Bristol-Myers Squibb and Exelixis
Research and Development collaboration for cancer treatments. Bristol-Myers Squibb will pay to Exelixis an upfront payment of $60 million in cash. Exelixis will also receive $20 million for each of up to three different drug candidates selected by BMS at IND. The companies plan to share development costs, commercial profits and co-promotion responsibilities equally in the United States. Exelixis will also receive royalties on product sales outside of the United States. – Dec. 2006
Collaboration and licensing agreement to create a new generation of potential cancer drugs. Exelixis received an exclusive worldwide license to develop and commercialize a selected analogue of the BMS anticancer compound, Rebeccamycin, now XL119 (becatecarin). XL119 is in Phase III clinical trials and was out-licensed to Helsinn Healthcare S.A. for further development and commercialization – July 2001.
Research collaboration using model systems genetics to identify targets for new drugs. As part of the collaboration, BMS and Exelixis share certain core technologies and lead optimization responsibilities. BMS transferred to Exelixis combinatorial chemistry hardware and software, along with related intellectual property rights. In return, Exelixis granted BMS a limited sublicense to use Exelixis' proprietary worm (C. elegans) and fly (D. melanogaster) technology. September 1999.
Research, development, and marketing collaboration for "novel therapies targeted against the Liver X Receptor (LXR), a nuclear hormone receptor implicated in a variety of cardiovascular and metabolic disorders." Exelixis received an up-front payment of $17.5 million and will receive approximately $10 million per year in R&D funding for an initial period of two years. Exelixis also may receive development and regulatory milestones totaling $140 million per product for up to two products from the collaboration, as well as sales milestones and royalties on sales of products commercialized under the collaboration.
Other selected alliances with small pharma
Bristol-Myers Squibb and Isis Pharmaceuticals – Cardiovascular Disease Collaboration. This is a collaboration to discover, develop and commercialize novel antisense drugs targeting proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin 9 (PCSK9) for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease – May 2007.
Bristol-Myers Squibb and Adnexus Therapeutics Collaboration to Develop and Commercialize Innovative Oncology Compounds – Companies To Leverage Adnexus' Proprietary Adnectin-PROfusion – Feb. 2007.
Bristol-Myers Squibb and Medivir AB Announce Worldwide Collaboration To Develop And Commercialize MIV-170 For The Treatment Of HIV-1 Infection In Adults. According to the BMS press release, "Terms of the agreement include an upfront payment from Bristol-Myers Squibb of $7.5 million to Medivir. Medivir may also receive pre-specified development and regulatory milestones totaling approximately $97 million." – September, 2006.
Bristol-Myers Squibb and ImClone Systems Marketing agreement concerning IMC-C225, an Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) for Cancer. Under the terms of the deal, BMS took a 20% equity stake in ImClone and, according to an Isis press release,"Under the terms of the commercial agreement, Bristol-Myers Squibb will pay ImClone Systems a total of $1 billion in three cash payments for the achievement of [three] milestones…In addition, ImClone will receive a significant share of product revenues." – Sept. 2001.