Stiefel Licenses Toctino from Basilea

Basilea Pharmaceutica has entered into an exclusive worldwide agreement with GSK subsidiary Stiefel for Toctino (alitretinoin). Stiefel will assume responsibility for the development, manufacturing, commercialization, and distribution of the product and will take over distribution agreements in Europe, Canada, Mexico, Israel and the Republic of Korea.
 
Toctino was developed by Basilea and is commercially available in 14 countries and approved in an additional 15 countries for the treatment of adults with severe chronic hand eczema that is refractory to treatment with potent topical corticosteroids. In the U.S., an oral formulation of the drug is in Phase III development.
 
Basilea will receive a $226.8 million upfront payment and is eligible for additional milestone payments of between $46.6 to $77.7 million related to a regulatory milestone of alitretinoin in the U.S. Basilea will also receive participation in U.S. sales three years after launch.
 
Dr. Anthony Man, chief executive officer of Basilea, said, “Through this transaction, we are immediately accessing the value of Toctino and we will be able to further focus our strategy on solving the massive health care threat of resistance in the areas of anti-infectives and oncology. This transaction provides us with non-dilutive capital to achieve our clinical milestones that are key to optimizing shareholder value. It also gives us the flexibility to selectively add products or product portfolios that address resistance to current therapies in our focus areas of anti-infectives and oncology.”
 
Employees at Basilea’s European affiliates and Swiss headquarters involved in the commercialization and distribution of Toctino will have the option to transfer to Stiefel upon completion of the transaction.