Watson, Synthon in biosimilar deal

Synthon B.V. (Nijmegen, the Netherlands) granted Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NYSE:WPI) worldwide rights to a biosimilar of breast and gastric cancer drug Herceptin trastuzumab that has completed a European Phase I trial. Watson will develop the product under an existing biosimilars co-development deal with Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN). Synthon will receive an upfront payment and is eligible for a milestone payment, plus royalties. Details were not disclosed (see BioCentury Extra, Jan. 2).

Roche (SIX:ROG; OTCQX:RHHBY) and its Genentech Inc. unit market Herceptin, a humanized mAb against epidermal growth factor receptor 2 ( EGFR2; HER2; ErbB2; neu). On Wednesday, Watson was up $0.18 to $77.46. Amgen was up $0.86 to $79.62. ...