Palm Beach, FL 12/20/11 (StreetBeat) -- Salix Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: SLXP) announced positive Phase III trial results for a drug to treat constipation in patients on pain medication on Tuesday.Raleigh-based Salix acquired the drug from Tarrytown, N.J., -based Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PGNX) in February and market the drug under the name Relistor everywhere except Japan, where Ono Pharmaceutical Co had a previous license agreement for the drug. Salix plans to file a new drug application with the Food and Drug Administration in mid 2012.
Salix paid $60 million in cash up front in the marketing deal and Relistor is already approved in the U.S., but may be delivered only through a subcutaneous injection, a type of injection mechanism typical in delivering insulin to diabetic patients, and only in patients with an advanced illness who are receiving palliative care. The latest trial tested an oral version in tablet form for patients who suffer from constipation caused by opioid medicine they take for chronic, non-cancer pain.
Under the Progenics agreement, Salix would pay another $50 million if the pill version is approved in the U.S., $40 million when a subcutaneous version is approved for non-cancer patients and $200 million when certain sales milestones are achieved. Progenics would also receive royalties ranging from 15 percent to 19 percent of net sales of Salix and its affiliates and 60 percent of any up-front payments Salix receives from sublicenses outside the U.S.
Salix did not break out sales of Relistor individually in its latest quarterly filing. It is accounted for in a group of six drugs which made up $15 million in sales through the first nine months of 2011, about 4 percent of net product revenues.
Salix is on pace to clip the $500 million revenue barrier for the year.
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