Theravance/Astellas: Quality Deal but without the Brand Name
Executive Summary
Branding works--in packaged goods and among investors. That's why, rather than taking Theravance's rich marketing deal with the Japanese company Astellas for the antibiotic telavancin -- rich in comparison to the best licensing deals signed in the segment -- as a net positive for the company, shareholders seemed disappointed.
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Astellas Pharma badly wanted to expand its rights to FibroGen's oral anemia compounds beyond Japan. So badly, in fact, that it paid a whopping $300 million up front, agreed to up to $465 million in pre-approval milestones, and will fund half of the compounds' development in Europe and North America. Yet Astellas doesn't even get North American commercial rights in exchange: it had to settle for European and other ex-US territories.
FibroGen Wins Big Upfront, Keeps US Rights to Oral Anemia Drug
Astellas Pharma badly wanted to expand its rights to FibroGen's oral anemia compounds beyond Japan. So badly, in fact, that it paid a whopping $300 million up front, agreed to up to $465 million in pre-approval milestones, and will fund half of the compounds' development in Europe and North America. Yet Astellas doesn't even get North American commercial rights in exchange: it had to settle for European and other ex-US territories.
Theravance: Having Cake and Eating It
Thanks to productivity, lower-risk follow-on drugs and access to a Big Pharma balance sheet, Theravance is trying to demonstrate the possibility of getting paid for doing what biotech does best: research.