Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Genzyme and Isis change license deal for cholesterol drug

By Mass High Tech Staff

Cambridge biotech Genzyme Corp. reports it has paid its final license fee of $175 million to Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. for the cardiovascular drug mipomersen.

In February, Isis received a $150 million payment from Genzyme (Nasdaq: GENZ) to purchase five million shares of Isis common stock at $30 per share.

The pair of companies have updated the deal terms so that Isis (Nasdaq: ISIS) will contribute up to $50 million in additional development funding for mipomersen, bringing Isis’ development funding commitment up to $125 million. Isis and Genzyme will share development costs equally after that, officials said. The new deal also means Isis could receive $75 million in milestone payments early.

According to Genzyme CEO and Chairman Henri Termeer, mipomersen is a “potential blockbuster” that could improve the standard of care for patients who don’t respond to conventional treatments to reduce cholesterol.

Mipomersen is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of familial hypercholesterolemia, a genetic disease that inhibits the body’s ability to metabolize low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Carlsbad, Calif.-based Isis expects to file for approval of the drug in 2009, according to the companies.

With 10,000 employees, Genzyme reported a 2007 profit of $480.2 million on revenue of $3.8 billion.