Jazz Pharma’s $1B bet pays off with accelerated lung cancer approval
Jazz Pharmaceuticals’ $1 billion bet last year looks to be paying off so far: for them and their partner.
Seven months after the Irish biopharma licensed PharmaMar’s small cell lung cancer drug lurbinectedin, the FDA has granted it accelerated approval. The drug, which was submitted two days before Jazz signed on in December and later granted priority review, will be marketed as Zepzelca.
Zepzelca won’t enter the market until July, at which point Jazz will face the difficult hurdles of commercializing a drug in a pandemic, but the approval should trigger an immediate payoff for PharmaMar. Although the exact terms aren’t spelled out, the original licensing agreement included “up to $250 million upon the achievement of accelerated and/or full regulatory approval of lurbinectedin by FDA within certain timelines.” That deal also included $200 million upfront and $550 million in commercial milestones.
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