Endo Sells Back Rights for Opioid Painkiller
December 08 2016 - 10:30AM
Dow Jones News
Endo International PLC said Thursday that it had sold back the
rights to an opioid pain drug to BioDelivery Sciences International
Inc., as the market for opioid-based painkillers has come under
fire.
Regulators and experts say the overuse of opioid-based pain
treatments has contributed to an opioid epidemic. Earlier this
year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released
long-awaited guidelines limiting the prescribing of opioid
painkillers.
On Thursday, Endo said it was selling back the rights to the
drug as the opioid market had evolved, and that it wanted to focus
on drugs that didn't require a sales force. In November, Endo said
it was evaluating how to maximize the value of the drug in a
"challenging opioid market."
The drug, belbuca, delivers the low-level opioid buprenorphine
through a dissolvable film placed in a patients' cheeks and is
meant for treating long-term chronic pain. BioDelivery said its
drug is a "responsible solution" for treating chronic pain while
also being "differentiated" from other opioids to help prevent
abuse. Buprenorphine is classified by regulators as a schedule III
controlled substance, meaning regulators say it has a lower abuse
potential than schedule II drugs. Many commonly given opioids are
schedule II.
Last month, BioDelivery said belbuca "sales continue to
demonstrate the potential for growth, despite the current
challenges around the use of opioids to treat pain." In August,
Endo said it planned to increase its marketing investment in
belbuca.
Endo said Thursday it had reached an agreement to return the
rights to belbuca to BioDelivery. Endo had been responsible for
developing and commercializing the drug since 2012. The companies
won't have any future royalty or milestone payments to each other.
Endo will lay off its 375-member sales force for the drug and would
take a $40 million write-down and other costs of $22 million. It
also expects $90 million to $100 million in cost savings.
BioDelivery said the drug is on track for $27 million in annual
sales. The company also said it would now focus on selling the
pain-treatment drug instead of trying to increase sales of its
opioid-addiction treatment drug, citing the larger pain market and
the larger amount of revenue generated per patient.
Shares of BioDelivery rose 2.9% in premarket trading as shares
of Endo rose 0.2%.
Write to Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 08, 2016 10:15 ET (15:15 GMT)
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