Revised deal with Depomed gives Santarus more control over US marketing of Glumetza
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
Depomed and partner Santarus have built upon a 2008 deal covering the US commercialisation of Depomed's type 2 diabetes treatment, Glumetza (metformin HCl) extended-release tablets. Santarus previously was entitled solely to promotional rights, but will be assuming broad US responsibilities, including those related to manufacturing and regulations, and will be begin recording US sales on 1 September. At the same time, Santarus hopes to halt losing sales to generic metformin with E-vouchers given at the point of pharmacy purchase enabling certain patients to make only a $10 co-payment (similar to the cost of a generic), compared to a $60 co-payment.
You may also be interested in...
ChemoCentryx cuts price to get $45M IPO away
ChemoCentryx has successfully completed its initial public offering on Nasdaq, raising $45 million to help support its multiple R&D programmes. It sold 4.5 million shares at $10, a somewhat less ambitious debut than it had originally planned in January when it wanted to sell four million shares at $14-$16. The reduced offer is a sign of the challenging nature of the IPO market, but ChemoCentryx's assessment of its own worth was at least closer to the market’s assessment that Cempra which got its IPO away on 6 February at valuation that was less than two-thirds of that implied by its initial prospectus (scripintelligence.com, 7 February 2012).
Ampio raises $16.9M as it advances PhIII premature ejaculation drug
Ampio Pharmaceuticals, a development-stage company, initially raised $15 million which was boosted to $16.9 million by the exercise of overallotments by brokers. The shares were offered at $3.25, an 8.5% discount to the closing price of $3.66 on 12 July. The market pushed them down slightly further to 3.21 on 13 July.
Money talks: Verastem leverages IPO to build cancer stem cell pipeline
Verastem, a cancer stem cells startup, has moved quickly to build its pipeline just five months after an initial public offering. Management at the Cambridge, Massachusetts firm believes that recent moves have accelerated Verastem's clinical development plans by a year.