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24 July 2019AmericasRory O'Neill

Gilead licenses HIV injections for $25m

Gilead has obtained exclusive worldwide rights to market a long-acting injectable HIV product based on Durect Corporation’s Saber technology.

The deal, announced Monday, July 22, sees Gilead make an upfront payment of $25 million to Durect.

The licensing agreement also includes up to $75 million in development and regulatory milestones, as well as up to $70 million in sales-based milestones.

Durect’s Saber platform is an extended release injection method.

Gilead will also receive exclusive rights to option Saber-based HIV and Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) drugs, for an additional $150 million per product in milestones and royalties.

Gilead is heavily reliant on HIV prevention therapies, which accounted for 70% of the company’s sales in the first quarter of 2019.

The pharmaceutical company has already agreed to relinquish exclusive patent rights for its HIV prevention drug Truvada (emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate), a form of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

As part of a settlement, Teva Pharmaceuticals will be able to launch a generic version of Truvada in September 2020, a year earlier than previously anticipated.

Speaking on the latest licensing deal, Durect CEO James Brown said that the companies had been “working together on this program as a feasibility project, and are now delighted that Gilead has chosen to advance this effort into a formal development programme”.

"We're pleased to be working on this programme with Gilead given their expertise and global leadership in the HIV and HBV fields," Brown added.

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9 May 2019   A generic version of Gilead’s Truvada will hit the market in 2020, a year earlier than expected.

More on this story

Americas
9 May 2019   A generic version of Gilead’s Truvada will hit the market in 2020, a year earlier than expected.