Dive Brief:
- Novartis has partnered with Ophthotech Corp. to market Fovista, which is in late-stage development for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
- Novartis is paying an upfront $200 million fee, along with additional Phase 3 milestone fees, to market the drug outside of the U.S.
- All told, Ophthotech stands to gain $1 billion when fees from marketing approval milestons, sales and royalties are taken into consideration.
Dive Insight:
Fovista is being developing as part of a combination therapy for wet AMD. If approved, Fovista will be used in combination with anti-VEGF treatments.
Ophthotech has been testing Fovista with various anti-VEGF treatments, including Novartis’ Lucentis (ranibizumab), Bayer/Regeneron’s Eylea (afibercept) and the cancer drug Avastin (bevacizumab), which is being used off label for wet AMD. Novartis plans to market Fovista as part of combination therapy with Lucentis.