Basilea Pharmaceutica has entered into a license agreement with Shenzhen China Resources Gosun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (CR Gosun) for Basilea’s antibiotic Zevtera (ceftobiprole) in China, Hong Kong and Macao (the Territory).
The agreement will grant CR Gosun an exclusive license to develop, manufacture and to commercialize ceftobiprole in the Territory. Basilea will receive an execution payment of CHF 3 million and is eligible to receive up to approximately CHF 145 million additional payments upon achievement of pre-specified regulatory and commercial milestones.
CR Gosun will bear all costs for regulatory and development activities, including the conduct of clinical studies necessary for obtaining marketing authorization in the Territory. Basilea will initially supply CR Gosun at a transfer price and will be eligible for tiered double-digit royalties on product sales once CR Gosun manufactures ceftobiprole itself.
Ronald Scott, Basilea’s Chief Executive Officer, stated: “China is one of the largest markets for antibiotics with bacterial resistance rates among the highest in the world. Zevtera’s broad spectrum anti-bacterial coverage including MRSA addresses a significant medical need of patients who are suffering from severe bacterial infections. We look forward to making Zevtera available to patients in China through our partnership with CR Gosun, which is the anti-infectives platform subsidiary of the second largest pharmaceutical group in China and has a long history in the field of antibiotics.”
Ceftobiprole is currently approved for sale in 13 European countries and several non-European countries for the treatment of adult patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP), excluding ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).