Affymax and Takeda announce agreement for commercialization of Hematide for anemia

Affymax and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company have announced that the companies have entered into an exclusive global agreement to develop and commercialize Affymax's lead product candidate, Hematide, for the treatment of anemia.

The companies will collaborate on the development of the product and co-commercialize Hematide in the United States while Takeda will hold an exclusive license to develop and commercialize outside the United States, including the right for Japan under the previous agreement announced in February 2006.

Under the terms of the agreement, Affymax will receive US$105 million in an upfront cash payment. In addition, Affymax is eligible to receive development and regulatory milestone payments of up to US$280 million, and commercial milestone payments upon successful commercialization of Hematide of up to US$150 million, for total potential milestone payments of US$430 million. Takeda and Affymax will be jointly responsible for Hematide U.S. development costs with the vast majority of these costs to be the responsibility of Takeda. Outside of the U.S., Takeda also will be responsible for all of the development costs for regulatory approvals and will pay Affymax royalties on sales. Affymax is responsible for the manufacture and supply of drug substance to Takeda, and Takeda is responsible for the final packaging and distribution of Hematide globally.

Hematide, a synthetic, peptide-based erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA), is designed to stimulate the production of red blood cells and is in Phase 2b clinical trials for anemia in dialysis, pre-dialysis and cancer chemotherapy patients. ESAs currently address a US$12 billion market worldwide and have been used successfully to manage anemia in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and cancer-related anemia. They reduce the need for blood transfusions and the frequency and severity of anemia-associated morbidity, resulting in an improved quality of life for patients.

http://www.affymax.com and http://www.takeda.com