Teva will pay Protalix $2-3 million in the first stage, and the deal could reach $90 million.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) and Protalix Biotherapeutics Ltd. have signed a collaboration and licensing agreement for the development of two proteins, using Protalix's plant cell culture platform. Sources inform ''Globes'' that Teva will pay Protalix $2-3 million in the first stage, and the deal could reach $90 million subject to certain milestones, and not including development financing by Teva.
The companies did not disclose which proteins are involved in the agreement, only saying that they are “aimed at large-sized markets are not part of Protalix's current product development pipeline.”
The agreement gives Protalix certain exclusive manufacturing rights for products if and when they obtain marketing approval.
Protalix has developed a method for expressing human proteins in plants. The company’s most advanced product, a protein for the treatment of Gaucher’s Disease, is about to begin Phase III clinical trials. The company has other products based on other human proteins in various stages of development. The two products for which Teva has bought rights are not in advanced clinical trial stages.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on September 27, 2006
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