Tetraphase in a multimillion-dollar licensing deal with Chinese Everest

Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals which creates antibiotics to treat life-threatening multidrug-resistant (MDR) infections, has gotten a licensing agreement with Everest Medicines Limited, a China-based C-Bridge Capital-backed biopharmaceutical company, to develop and commercialize eravacycline in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, and Singapore.

The antibiotics specialist said Wednesday that the agreement will give it an initial upfront payment of $7.0 million and may receive clinical and regulatory milestones of up to $16.5 million as well as annual sales milestones of up to $20.0 million. Everest will be solely responsible for the development and commercialization of eravacycline in those territories. Tetraphase and Everest will establish a joint steering committee to review and oversee all of Everest’s development and commercialization plans. Tetraphase will also be eligible to receive double digit tiered royalties on net sales of eravacycline in the territories, it said.

“Our agreement with Everest marks an important step in our plans to bring eravacycline to market on a global level,” said Guy Macdonald, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tetraphase.

“With positive Phase 3 data evaluating IV eravacycline in cIAI, our NDA under review by the FDA in the U.S. and our Marketing Authorization Application also under review in Europe, both for cIAI, we are expanding our commercialization strategy to China and other Asian territories and countries. With new regulations in place in China to accelerate development and approval, along with high levels of multidrug-resistant infections there, we believe there is a significant opportunity for eravacycline to become an important new treatment in China and other territories,” Macdonald said.