Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and Teijin Pharma Limited annouce collaboration on PDE4 inhibitor
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals S.A (Switzerland), a wholly owned subsidiary of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals India (GPL), and Teijin Pharma Limited (Teijin Pharma), a wholly owned subsidiary of Teijin Limited (Teijin), have entered into a collaboration agreement for Glenmark's PDE4 inhibitor GRC 3886.
GRC 3886 is a novel, orally available PDE4 inhibitor discovered by Glenmark. It is currently in development for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD) and Asthma, and may also have utility in other inflammatory conditions such as Rheumatoid Arthritis. Combined, these markets, albeit COPD going mostly undiagnosed and untreated at present, are currently about $2.0 billion and are growing at a significant rate. PDE4 inhibitors target the underlying cause of both COPD and Asthma by blocking inflammation through a non-steroid dependent mechanism. In pre-clinical trials, GRC 3886 was shown to be a highly specific PDE4 inhibitor with potential for the indications of asthma and COPD.
Teijin Pharma will have the exclusive right to develop, register and commercialize GRC 3886 for all potential indications for which the product might receive approval in the Japanese market. Teijin Pharma will pay Glenmark a high up-front payment upon initiation of the agreement, and a further milestone on commencement of Phase I studies in Japan. Teijin Pharma will also pay Glenmark other milestones on crossing each successive stage in the development and commercialization of the product for the Japanese market. The cumulative value of these upfront and milestone payments could be up to $53 million if all the milestones are completed. Additionally, after commercial launch, Teijin Pharma will pay Glenmark annual sums that are marginally higher than the first quartile of net sales of the product in Japan, towards supply of the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) and royalties.
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