France’s Ipsen says it has granted exclusive rights to develop, promote and sell its anti-wrinkle treatment Dysport to Switzerland-based Galderma, a joint venture between Nestle and L’Oreal.
Under the terms of the deal, Galderma will develop and market a specific formulation for the aesthetic use of Ipsen’s Dysport (botulinum toxin type A) in the European Union, Russia, and certain territories of the Middle East and Eastern Europe. It also has first rights for aesthetic medicine indications in the rest of the world, excluding the USA, Canada, and Japan, where Medicis Pharmaceutical holds the rights to the product, which is known as Reloxin. If approved, it will go up against Allergan’s market-leading Botox (also botulinum toxin type A) product.
In return, Ipsen will receive an upfront payment of 10 million euros and up to 20 million euros upon the achievement of certain milestones, including market approvals and product launches in certain territories, plus an additional payment, to be negotiated, with respect to Russia.
Ipsen will manufacture and supply finished product of Dysport, at a fixed supply price and Galderma will also pay royalties. Combined, this would be about 40% of the Swiss firm’s net sales, and the agreement runs until September 2019, with the possibility of extending it for a total of 30 years.
The specific formulation for the aesthetic medicine indication of Dysport is under EU regulatory approval and the botulinum toxin market in Europe will continue to show double-digit growth, Ipsen said. The treatment was initially developed for muscle spasticity, and has now been approved for aesthetic indications in 20 countries, including many in South America, and sales of the drug rose 22.5% last year to 113.3 million.
