Sepracor licenses epilepsy drug candidate from Portuguese firm
Sepracor Inc. wants to tap the estimated $4 billion market for epilepsy treatments, but it won't develop its own drug from scratch.
The pharmaceutical company announced a licensing agreement Wednesday with Bial, a Portuguese enterprise working on an anti-epileptic compound. Sepracor paid $75 million up front for the rights to the drug candidate, dubbed "BIA 2-093,'' in the United States and Canada.
"We are very pleased to add this late-stage asset to our growing product pipeline,'' said Adrian Adams, Sepracor's president and chief executive, in a statement.
The drug compound, known generically as eslicarbazepine acetate, has been shown in clinical studies to be safe and effective in controlling epileptic seizures in adults. Epilepsy is a brain disorder in which clusters of nerve cells in the brain sometimes signal abnormally.
Sepracor expects to submit a new drug application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in late 2008 or early 2009, with a potential product launch in late 2009 or early 2010.
The Marlborough-based company currently has four drugs on the market: the sleeping pill Lunesta, two versions of the asthma medication Xopenex, and Brovana, a treatment for pulmonary diseases such as bronchitis and emphysema.
Sepracor has about a dozen other compounds in various stages of development for treating such disorders as anxiety, depression and schizophrenia, and it has licensed two allergy drugs, Allegra and Clarinex, to other pharmaceutical firms.
Lunesta has generated about $1.3 billion in sales from its launch in April 2005 through Sept. 30, according to company regulatory filings. The drug accounted for nearly half of Sepracor's $1.2 billion in 2006 revenue.
According to their licensing agreement, Sepracor could pay Bial another $100 million if certain development and regulatory milestones are met.
Bial, founded in 1924 and based in Trofa, is the largest pharmaceutical company in Portugal.
"In Sepracor we have found a partner who truly shares our vision and commitment to this compound and a company with a proven commercial track record in the U.S. market,'' said Luis Portela, Bial's president and CEO, in a statement.
Greg Turner can be reached at gturner@cnc.com or 508-626-3909.
MetroWest Daily News