Gemphire, Pfizer Amend Gemcabene License

Gemphire Therapeutics Inc. has amended the license agreement with Pfizer covering gemcabene.

Gemphire licensed exclusive worldwide commercial rights to gemcabene from Pfizer in 2011. Under the original agreement, Pfizer had the right to terminate the license if the drug was not adequately commercialized by April 2021. The amended and restated agreement extends the deadline for the first commercial sale to April 2024. The royalty period in countries in which gemcabene becomes approved for commercial sale, if any, has been extended, and the royalty rates that are payable upon achieving certain sales.

“We are pleased to enter into this amended and restated agreement with Pfizer that includes provisions that we believe benefit both parties,” said Dr. Steven Gullans, chief executive officer of Gemphire. “The extension to the agreed date by which we need to commercialize gemcabene provides us with additional flexibility to focus on the optimal development path and timeline for gemcabene. Additionally, we believe the extension will remove any near-term considerations by investors and potential strategic partners about our ability to achieve commercialization under the license agreement. Based on our current projections, however, we believe we will be successful in bringing gemcabene to market in at least one of our chosen disease indications well before this date.”