Specialty pharmaceuticals company Savient Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: SVNT) has announced that it will sell its injectable testosterone product for male hypogonadism (testosterone deficiency), Delatestryl, to Indevus Pharmaceuticals Inc. Savient expects that the transaction will close early in 2006.
Under the terms of the agreement, Indevus will pay Savient an initial payment of $5 million and will also pay to Savient a portion of the net sales of the product for the first three years following closing based on an escalating scale. If the sales of Delatestryl remain at current levels for the three years following the closing of the transaction, these additional net sales payments could equal approximately $2 million.
Additionally, Indevus will purchase from Savient in three installments equaling approximately $1.9 million its inventory of finished product.
Indevus will also assume certain future obligations under the agreement with the third party contract manufacturer for the product.
"The sale of Delatestryl to Indevus represents another step forward in our corporate strategy to become a world-class specialty pharmaceutical company with a focus in rheumatolgy" said Savient CEO Christopher Clement. "Its sale to Indevus affords us the opportunity to better focus our efforts on our rheumatolgy product Puricase for severe gout, which will start its phase 3 clinical trials in early 2006".
Savient noted that last month it presented final phase 2 data at the American College of Rheumatolgy meeting in San Diego which demonstrated the benefit of Puricase in immediate reduction of hyperuricemia (elevated blood level of uric acid) and dramatic reduction of tophi (accumulations of uric acid crystals that build up in the soft tissue).
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on Wednesday, December 14, 2005