BiolineRX Ltd. (Nasdaq: BLRX); TASE:BLRX) has signed a second licensing agreement for a hepatitis C treatment. It signed a worldwide, exclusive license agreement with France's Genoscience SA and RFS Pharma LLC to develop and commercialize BL-8030 oral treatment for hepatitis C. BiolineRX will pay both companies upfront license fees, milestone payments and royalties.
BL-8030 was invented by Professor Philippe Halfon and his team at Genoscience and jointly developed with scientists at RFS Pharma. Preclinical trial of BL-8030 found it safe and effective against various hepatitis C genotypes, "We were impressed by the drug development expertise of the BioLineRx team and are very pleased to collaborate with them on a second hepatitis C project.
Halfon added, There is clearly a huge unmet medical need in finding a safe and effective treatment for hepatitis C, and based on pre-clinical results, we believe that our product, especially when combined with other available hepatitis C drugs, has the potential to become an important addition to hepatitis C combination therapies and bring remedy to millions suffering from this devastating disease.'
BiolineRX CEO Dr. Kinneret Savitsky said, "Two years ago, we took a strategic decision to enter the dynamic and rapidly growing field of Hepatitis C. Since that time, we have evaluated numerous projects in the field. A year ago, we identified and decided to focus on the in-licensing of the two most promising candidates: BL-8020, which we've recently licensed, and now BL-8030."
BiolineRX's share price rose 11% by mid-afternoon on the TASE to NIS 1.73, and rose 13.2% in premarket trading on Nasdaq to $4.70, giving a market cap of $60 million.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 6, 2012
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