TransTech Inks Forest Labs Deal
An initial $50 million licensing payment to High Point pharmaceutical developer TransTech Pharma could grow to more than $1.1 billion from Forest Laboratories.
TransTech, which won the North Carolina Biotechnology Economic Development Award in 2008, got the up-front money for signing a license agreement letting Forest develop and commercialize TransTech diabetes chemicals.
TransTech could see up to $1.105 billion in upfront and milestone payments for the successful development and commercialization of the compounds. Forest will also pay TransTech royalties on worldwide product sales, and assumes development and commercialization costs.
TransTech Pharma retains the rights to the Middle East and North Africa, and Forest gets exclusive rights to the rest of the world.
"We selected Forest because of its highly dedicated team and leadership that bring a wealth of experience and resources to our compounds," said Adnan Mjalli, Ph.D., TransTech's founder, chairman and CEO.
"Forest is driven by entrepreneurial spirit, innovation and dedication. We believe this novel class of compounds has the potential to be a major therapeutic advance in the treatment of diabetes."