Incyte buying Ariad's European operations, Iclusig rights

Incyte Corp. (NASDAQ:INCY) will acquire the European operations of Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA), including exclusive rights to leukemia drug Iclusig ponatinib in the EU and 22 other countries including Switzerland, Turkey and Russia. Incyte will obtain a 125-employee team, including medical, sales and marketing staff.

Ariad will receive $140 million in upfront cash and is eligible for $135 million in milestones tied to new cancer indications for Iclusig, plus undisclosed milestones for any non-cancer indications. Ariad is eligible for tiered royalties of 32-50% on Iclusig sales; the company recorded $26.8 million in 2015 European net product revenues of the pan- BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase (BCR-ABL) inhibitor (TKI). Incyte also will pay Ariad $14 million for two ongoing trials of Iclusig. ...