Bristol Eyes HIV Portfolio Expansion
This article was originally published in The Pink Sheet Daily
Executive Summary
Agreement with Medivir and in-house development of two inhibitors could add to Bristol’s HIV stable.
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Bristol-Myers Squibb hopes to expand its portfolio of HIV therapies through a partnership with Swedish drugmaker Medivir AB, and the development of two new inhibitors discovered in-house, Bristol told "The Pink Sheet" DAILY. Under the agreement with Medivir, announced Sept. 13, the companies will work to develop MIV-170, a preclinical non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor. Terms include a $7.5 mil. up-front payment from Bristol and up to approximately $97 mil. more to Medivir if certain milestones are met. Medivir would receive additional royalties should the product be commercialized. Bristol is responsible for development and commercialization in all countries except the Nordic region, where Medivir has retained commercialization rights. Medivir's focus is infectious disease treatments, and MIV-170 is the earliest of five polymerase inhibitors ranging in development from preclinical to Phase II. The company is co-developing its Phase I candidate MIV-150 with the nonprofit research organization Population Council. The Bristol deal is Medivir's third involving a polymerase inhibitor in recent months. In June, the firm inked two deals with Johnson & Johnson's Tibotec unit, one for MIV-210 in HIV and hepatitis B, and another for an HIV protease inhibitor project currently in preclinical development. Medivir also licensed Phase II shingles candidate MIV-606 to San Francisco-based Epiphany Biosciences Sept. 8 for equity, additional milestone payments up to $24.5 mil. and royalties on worldwide sales. MIV-170 could provide advantages over existing NNRTIs due to its potential for greater potency and a higher resistance barrier, Bristol and Medivir said. Bristol is also in the exploratory stage of a potentially first-in-class HIV treatment, an attachment inhibitor, as well as an integrase inhibitor, the company told "The Pink Sheet" DAILY . The three therapies could add to Bristol's current stable of HIV treatments, which include Sustiva (efavirenz) and Reyataz (atazanivir sulfate), and older products, Videc EC (didanosine) and Zerit (stavudine). Bristol said MIV-170 would be a "next-generation" NNRTI and is envisioned as Sustiva's successor. In July, Bristol and Gilead launched Atripla , a three-in-one combination of Sustiva and Gilead's NRTIs Emtriva (emtricitabine) and Viread (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) (1 (Also see "Atripla Approved As First Once-Daily, Single-Tablet HIV Therapy" - Pink Sheet, 12 Jul, 2006.)). - Jonathan Block ([email protected]) |