Valeant Pharmaceuticals has sold certain discovery and preclinical assets to Ardea Biosciences, Inc. (formerly IntraBiotics Pharmaceuticals). The sale includes the rights to Valeant's HIV and cancer development programs.
Under the terms of the agreement, Ardea will make payments to Valeant upon the achievement of clinical milestones for both HIV and cancer programs. Valeant will retain an option to reacquire rights to commercialize its HIV program outside of the U.S. and Canada upon Ardea's completion of Phase III trials. Ardea will pay Valeant development milestones and royalties upon its commercialization of the HIV and cancer programs. Ardea may receive milestone and royalty payments related to the clinical advancement and commercialization of the HIV program should Valeant exercise its option to this program.
Timothy C. Tyson, Valeant's president and chief executive officer, said, "The sale to Ardea is another significant step forward in the execution of our restructuring initiative. The agreement will further the development of important programs for HIV and other therapies while allowing us to retain an interest in the commercial rights to our HIV compounds."
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