Roche (RHHBY.PK) has entered into an alliance with the Belgian biotech company Galapagos to develop new therapies for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). While Galapagos will be responsible for the development of COPD targets and drug candidates for these targets, Roche will have an exclusive option to license each Galapagos development program at an early stage. On exercising the option, Roche will be responsible for further development of the drug candidates and their commercialization.
As per the terms of the agreement, Galapagos will receive an upfront payment of €6 million from Roche. In addition, Galapagos is also eligible to receive another €400 million in the form of milestones as well as royalties upon the commercialization of any products covered in the agreement.
This is the second major alliance for Galapagos in the last three months. Earlier, in October, Merck (MRK) expanded its existing alliance with Galapagos to additionally develop new therapies for atherosclerosis or the hardening of arteries. Under this alliance, Galapagos could receive potential milestone payments exceeding €400 million.
COPD refers to the obstruction of airways caused by chronic bronchitis, leading to a difficulty in breathing and persistent coughing. The disease affects about 210 million people worldwide with more than 5 million people dying of the disease each year. The number of affected people is likely to increase considerably in the next ten years with the increased use of tobacco, which is one of the primary causes of this disease.
The huge potential of the COPD market has attracted many pharmaceutical companies. Although many treatment options are currently available such as Pfizer’s (PFE) Spiriva and GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) Advair, companies such as Novartis (NVS) and Forest Laboratories (FRX) have pipeline candidates as well, targeting the COPD market.
Read the full analyst report on “RHHBY.PK”
Read the full analyst report on “MRK”
Read the full analyst report on “PFE”
Read the full analyst report on “GSK”
Read the full analyst report on “NVS”
Read the full analyst report on “FRX”
Zacks Investment Research
