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LONDON (Alliance News) - Circassia Pharmaceuticals PLC said Tuesday it plans to exercise its option to acquire the full US rights to the Tudorza chronic obstructive pulmonary disease drug from AstraZeneca PLC.
Circassia expects to complete the option exercise on December 31. The deal follows Circassia and AstraZeneca agreeing in April 2017 to a profit share agreement for Tudorza and another COPD drug, Duaklir.
"Exercising our option for the full US commercial rights to Tudorza represents a strategic opportunity for Circassia," Circassia Chief Executive Officer Steve Harris said. "We will have significantly more control of the product's commercialisation strategy, and with prescription levels continuing to stabilise, we now have a robust foundation from which to grow the product."
"We plan to build on our learnings of the past 18 months and are launching a dedicated COPD sales force alongside a focused NIOX team, which we believe will improve promotion of our existing products and provide a platform for the launch of Duaklir, once approved," Harris added. "With both the Tudorza option exercise and Duaklir regulatory review process anticipated to complete in the coming months, we look forward to 2019 with significant optimism."
The Duaklir regulatory approval process is expected to complete on March 31, 2019.
Completion of the option exercise will see Circassia pay AstraZeneca USD5.0 million. A deferred USD20 million payment related to the Tudorza acquisition is also payable on Duaklir receiving regulatory approval in the US. This is in addition to the USD100 million deferred consideration due under the initial agreement with AstraZeneca.
Circassia expects to settle the new payments through either third-party funding or a loan facility provided by AstraZeneca should third-party funding be unavailable.
Shares in Circassia were 1.8% lower at 64.80 pence on Tuesday, AstraZeneca up 1.3% at 6,083.00 pence.
