Biovail: BLS, Kyowa Hakko Kirin sign license agreement

Biovail Corporation (NYSE, TSX: BVF) today announced that its subsidiary, Biovail Laboratories International SRL (BLS), has entered into a license agreement with Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd. (Kyowa Hakko Kirin). BLS has acquired the U.S. and Canadian rights to commercialize products containing istradefylline - a new chemical entity targeted for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

“Istradefylline represents a novel approach for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and provides another building block within our development pipeline, which now has four programs targeting unmet medical needs in Parkinson's disease.”

"This transaction again highlights our focus on late-stage specialty central nervous system products," said Bill Wells, Biovail's Chief Executive Officer. "Istradefylline represents a novel approach for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and provides another building block within our development pipeline, which now has four programs targeting unmet medical needs in Parkinson's disease."

Under the terms of the agreement, BLS has paid an upfront fee of $10 million, and could pay up to $20 million in potential development milestones through U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval and up to an additional $35 million if certain sales-based milestones are met. BLS will also make tiered, royalty payments of up to 30% on net commercial sales of products containing istradefylline. In connection with this transaction, BLS has also entered into a supply agreement with Kyowa Hakko Kirin for the supply of istradefylline.

BLS will be seeking a meeting with the FDA in the near term to discuss istradefylline's development path forward.