Advertisement PDL BioPharma acquires portion of Michigan University's royalty interest in genzyme's cerdelga for $65.6m - Pharmaceutical Business review
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PDL BioPharma acquires portion of Michigan University’s royalty interest in genzyme’s cerdelga for $65.6m

PDL BioPharma announced that it has acquired a portion of the University of Michigan's ("U-M") worldwide royalty interest in Cerdelga (eliglustat) for $65.6 million.

Cerdelga, an oral therapy for adult patients with Gaucher disease type 1, was developed by Genzyme, a Sanofi company. Cerdelga was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on August 19, 2014.

Under the terms of the royalty agreement, PDL will receive 75 percent of all royalty payments due under U-M’s license agreement with Genzyme until expiration of the licensed patents, excluding any patent term extension.

The royalty rate used to calculate the royalties to be paid by Genzyme to U-M was not disclosed by the parties. In addition to the recent FDA approval, marketing applications for Cerdelga are under review by the European Medicines Agency and other regulatory authorities.

Cerdelga was developed to provide an effective oral treatment alternative for adult patients with Gaucher disease type 1, and to provide a broader range of treatment options for Gaucher patients and physicians. Genzyme’s clinical development program for Cerdelga represented the largest clinical program ever conducted in Gaucher disease, with approximately 400 patients treated in 29 countries.

"Our acquisition of the Cerdelga royalties significantly adds to our already diversified portfolio of biopharmaceutical royalties," stated John McLaughlin, president and chief executive officer of PDL BioPharma.

"We continue to provide leading institutions, such as the University of Michigan, with capital that will allow them to pursue their funding initiatives, while also allowing PDL to acquire meaningful income generating assets and to create shareholder value."

"Cerdelga represents the first chemical entity invented at the University of Michigan to receive FDA approval and illustrates the societal benefits of transferring discoveries from university research," said Kenneth Nisbet, Associate Vice President for Research-Technology Transfer at the University of Michigan.

"We’re very pleased with our agreement with PDL which enables us to accelerate our investments in research and education. We strongly believe in Cerdelga’s potential, which is why we have retained a portion of the royalty rights."