Reliant Pharmaceuticals, LLC, and Eli Lilly and Company announced that Lilly would sell to Reliant the sales and marketing rights for the antiulcer agent Axid in the United States (excluding Puerto Rico). This agreement will help maximize future sales of Axid through expanded sales and marketing efforts and the development of additional formulations by Reliant.
Under the terms of the agreement, Reliant will receive exclusive sales and marketing rights for Axid in the United States (excluding Puerto Rico). In exchange, Lilly will receive an upfront fee. In addition, Lilly will receive payments enabling it to retain the revenue that it would have expected to receive had it maintained its U.S. sales and marketing rights and will receive additional payments based on sales levels achieved by Reliant.
Lilly retains ownership of the New Drug Application and continues to manufacture Axid.
Reliant will pay a royalty to Lilly for sales related to any new formulations in the United States.
Lilly will have an option on any new formulations of Axid outside the United States.
The transaction is subject to satisfaction of customary conditions precedent, including compliance with the Hart-Scott- Rodino Act. Axid is a histamine H2-blocker and is used for the treatment of ulcers and other gastric acid disorders.
It was launched in the United States in 1988 and is currently marketed in approximately 80 countries.
“This agreement will allow Lilly to continue to realize the full potential of Axid while directing its resources to support several new products the company expects to launch over the coming years,” said Gerhard N. Mayr, executive vice president, pharmaceutical operations, for Lilly.
“Our agreement with Reliant will benefit both companies as we look forward to a long and productive relationship.”
“We are pleased to add Axid to Reliant’s expanding portfolio of products and to work with a company of Lilly’s stature,” stated Joseph Krivulka, president of Reliant.
“Reliant’s strategy is to build additional value in the brands it acquires through focused marketing and selling efforts.
We believe Axid is an ideal candidate for our efforts in these areas.”
Lilly, a leading innovation-driven corporation, is developing a growing portfolio of best-in-class pharmaceutical products by applying the latest research from its own worldwide laboratories and from collaborations with eminent scientific organizations.
Reliant Pharmaceuticals is an emerging, ethical pharmaceutical company headquartered in Bridgewater, N.J., and engaged in the acquisition, development and marketing, through a national sales force, of branded pharmaceutical products with untapped potential in the U.S. primary care market.