BioCentury
ARTICLE | Finance

Royal de-risking

Royalty ups stake in Fumapharm earn-out as Biogen's Tecfidera uncertainties resolve

January 13, 2014 8:00 AM UTC

With the last major uncertainty for Tecfidera dimethyl fumarate in the rearview mirror, Royalty Pharma felt comfortable buying a bigger chunk of the MS drug's royalty stream. The firm is shelling out $510 million in cash for a larger stake, and now has bet more than $1 billion on the drug's prospects.

Royalty is buying the stake from former shareholders of Fumapharm AG, who are eligible for sales milestones related to Tecfidera (BG-12) and psoriasis drug Fumaderm. The milestones are paid by Biogen Idec Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB), which acquired Fumapharm in 2006...