Photocure sells Metvix rights to Galderma
Norwegian pharmaceutical company Photocure has sold the global rights to Metvix and Metvixia to Galderma for Euro 51m, in addition to the Nordic marketing and sales organisation for the products, which employs 10 people in Scandinavia.
Norwegian pharmaceutical company Photocure has sold the global rights to Metvix and Metvixia to Galderma for Euro 51m, in addition to the Nordic marketing and sales organisation for the products, which employs 10 people in Scandinavia.
Galderma has also bought the exclusive right to develop new dermatology products based on Photocure's patented substance, MAL.
Photocure will receive â"šÂ¬44m and additional future payments of â"šÂ¬7m related to future MAL-based dermatology products.
The company will continue to develop its Visonac product for the treatment of acne and its cancer portfolio, including Hexvix for the detection of bladder cancer, and the pipeline products Cevira, for the treatment of cervical cancer, and Lumacan, for the detection of colon cancer. Photocure aims to sign licensing agreements for Cevira and Lumacan before proceeding beyond phase II studies.
The divested products, consisting of the Metvix cream and the Aktilite light source, were approved in the EU in 2001 and internationally launched by Galderma in 2003. Metvix is a topical cream that is applied on the skin for three hours. The diseased area is then exposed to uniform red light of 633nm wavelength from Aktilite for approximately 10 minutes, which destroys cancerous cells.
Metvix/Aktilite is now approved for treatment of BCC (basal cell carcinoma, non-malignant skin cancer) and AK (actinic keratosis, pre-cancerous skin lesions) in more than 30 countries.