QLT Inc. (QLTI) will soon have exclusive U.S. sales and
marketing rights to Visudyne after reaching a restructured
agreement with Novartis Pharma AG (NVG), its marketing partner.
Visudyne was the first U.S.-approved treatment for wet
age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in
the elderly.
Under the amended agreement, which is effective Jan. 1, QLT will
have rights to all end-user revenue derived from Visudyne sales in
the U.S. Novartis will have marketing and sales rights in all
countries outside of the U.S. and will pay QLT a royalty of 20% of
those sales until Dec. 31, 2014. After that, QLT will get 16% of
sales outside the U.S. until the agreement expires at the end of
2019.
QLT will continue to make Visudyne and supply the product at a
pre-specified price exclusively to Novartis for distribution
outside the U.S. The companies will each be responsible for all
costs and expenses associated with marketing and sales in their
respective territories.
QLT expects the new deal with Novartis will increase its revenue
from Visudyne. In the second quarter, QLT's most recent, Visudyne
sales totaled $29 million, down almost 29% from the comparable
year-earlier quarter. Alternative therapies for age-related macular
degeneration have eaten into Visudyne's market share.
"This restructure will allow us to directly influence Visudyne
sales in the U.S. by establishing a small focused sales force
centered on retinal specialists," QLT said.
As part of the new agreement, QLT and Novartis have also
released each other from all open claims the parties may have
against each other, including any in connection with QLT's
litigation with Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and QLT's
litigation with General Hospital Corp.
QLT lost a case brought by the Massachusetts Eye and Ear
Infirmary, or MEEI, that cost it about $120 million. It's also
being sued by Massachusetts General Hospital, or MGH, which is
seeking the same royalties as MEEI.
The Vancouver biopharmaceutical company has said in the past
that was in talks with Novartis about picking up part of the tab
related to the MEEI judgement.
On Nasdaq Friday, QLT closed at $3.98, down 1.2%.
-By Judy McKinnon, Dow Jones Newswires; 416-306-2100;
judy.mckinnon@dowjones.com