Sun Pharma Licenses Merck's Psoriasis Drug For $80M
Merck announced that it has entered into a licensing agreement with Indian generics company Sun Pharmaceuticals for Merck’s therapeutic antibody candidate tildrakizumab as treatment for chronic plaque psoriasis.
Tildrakizumab is an investigational humanized anti-IL-23p19 monoclonal antibody that works to selectively block the cytokine IL-23. Inhibiting IL-23 might be effective in treating inflammatory conditions, such as the skin disease psoriasis. Results from clinical studies show that the drug effectively blocked inflammation in chronic plaque psoriasis through its inhibition of IL-23. The drug is currently undergoing investigation in Phase III trials for the indication and is being considered for psoriatic arthritis and Crohn’s Disease in the future.
As part of the agreement, Sun Pharma will gain global rights to tildrakizumab for use in all indications. The company will pay Merck an upfront fee of $80 million and will fund all clinical development and regulatory activities undertaken by Merck. Once tildrakizumab gains approval, Sun Pharma will take the lead for regulatory activities, including subsequent submissions, production, and marketing of the product. Merck will also receive milestone payments and royalties from sales of the drug. No further financial terms of the agreement were disclosed by either company.
“Consistent with our previously announced global initiative to sharpen our commercial and R&D focus, including prioritizing our late stage pipeline candidates, we are pleased to enter into this agreement with Sun Pharma to help realize the potential of tildrakizumab for patients with chronic plaque psoriasis,” said Dr. Iain D. Dukes, SVP of Business Development and Licensing at Merck Research Laboratories.
"Sun Pharma is very pleased to enter into this collaboration with Merck, a recognized leader in the field of inflammatory/immunology therapies, for this late-stage candidate for chronic plaque psoriasis,” said Kirti Ganorkar, SVP of Business Development at Sun Pharma.
This latest collaboration is just another example of a multinational firm setting its sights on India to throw its hat into the increasingly important generic drugs market. As the Wall Street Journal reports, big pharma companies have been increasingly seeking partner Indian firms as a new revenue sources. Some of these firms include Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline, which have both signed generic drug supply deals with Indian partners in order to beef up their generic drug businesses.