Medigene, Cowen Healthcare Royalty Partners L.P. deal
MediGene sold Cowen Healthcare Royalty Partners a 2% royalty on European sales of Eligard leuprolide for $17.7 million in cash. The royalty comes from MediGene's 2010 deal that gave Astellas Pharma Inc. (Tokyo:4503, Tokyo, Japan) European rights to the prostate cancer drug for €25 million ($33.2 million). Astellas reported ¥13.8 billion ($167 million) in European sales of Eligard for its fiscal year ending March 31. Eligard comprises the Atrigel drug delivery system used to deliver the luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonist. MediGene had European rights to Eligard under a 2001 deal with Atrix Laboratories Inc., which was subsequently acquired by QLT Inc. (TSX:QLT; NASDAQ:QLTI, Vancouver, B.C.). In 2009, QLT divested Eligard to Tolmar Inc. (Fort Collins, Colo.) (see BioCentury, July 26, 2010). ...