Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMPH) has announced a significant development in its proprietary pipeline through an exclusive licensing agreement with Nanjing Anji Biotechnology Co., Ltd. The agreement, which focuses on the development, manufacturing, use, and commercialization of three proprietary peptides in the United States and Canada, involves an upfront payment of $5.25 million to Anji, as well as potential development milestone payments of up to $42 million and sales milestone payments of up to $225 million based on annual net sales. Additionally, Amphastar will pay Anji 5% royalty payments on net sales, with a maximum accumulated amount of $60 million for each licensed product, and an upfront payment of $0.75 million for earnest money.
The first product, based on the discovery by Anji, targets the suppression of the growth and metastasis of multiple poorly treated cancers. The second product is a novel peptide-docetaxel conjugate designed to improve the selectivity and bioavailability of docetaxel, while the third product is an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) peptide developed as a topical eye drop for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (WAMD).
The agreement grants Amphastar an exclusive license to intellectual property controlled by Anji related to the licensed products in the territory, with Anji receiving a non-exclusive license from Amphastar for certain intellectual property to develop, make, use, and commercialize licensed products outside the territory.
Amphastar's President and CEO, Dr. Jack Zhang, expressed excitement about the collaboration, emphasizing the expansion of the company's pipeline with three potentially best-in-class peptide assets targeting high-growth markets across oncology and ophthalmology.
The term of the agreement will expire, on a licensed product-by-licensed product and region-by-region basis, on the tenth anniversary of the first commercial sale of such licensed product in the applicable region in the territory, with Amphastar having the right to extend the agreement until the earlier of an additional ten years or until the expiration, lapse, or invalidation of the last remaining valid claim of the patents licensed by Anji to Amphastar that cover the licensed products in the territory.
Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has been focusing on the development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of technically-challenging generic and proprietary injectable, inhalation, and intranasal products. The company manufactures all of its drug products in the United States and has multiple peptide and protein products commercialized in the US market and under development. As a result of these announcements, the company's shares have moved 14.91% on the market, and are now trading at a price of $27.36. For more information, read the company's full 8-K submission here.
