Mylan has entered into an agreement for the exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize Pfizer’s generic equivalent to GlaxoSmithKline’s Advair Diskus and Seretide Diskus, using Pfizer’s dry powder inhaler delivery platform. Both drugs are inhaled fixed-dose combinations of Fluticasone Propionate and Salmeterol delivered via a dry powder inhaler for the treatment of asthma and COPD. Mylan will also gain rights to Pfizer’s dry-powder delivery platform to develop and commercialize additional brand and generic products, including rights for certain existing Pfizer compounds currently in various stages of development.

Mylan will be responsible for remaining development and capital expenditures to bring products to market. Pfizer will receive a payment of $17.5 million at closing and will be eligible for additional payments based on regulatory and commercial success. Mylan will have exclusive commercialization rights in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the EU. In the rest of the world, Mylan and Pfizer will have co-promotion rights to the product.

Mylan will employ certain members of the former Pfizer respiratory inhalation development team based at Discovery Park in Sandwich, UK, where Mylan will establish a respiratory division. Some employees will be based in Cambridge, UK.

Mylan chairman and chief executive officer Robert J. Coury said, “Mylan’s acquisition of rights to Pfizer’s inhalation technology platform delivers on yet another one of our key strategic objectives by filling an important gap in our product portfolio and builds a truly world-class respiratory franchise for Mylan. I would like to personally welcome to Mylan the talented former Pfizer employees who will be joining us. This team’s core competency in respiratory brings Mylan deep knowledge and expertise that will allow us to fully leverage this exciting delivery platform. We will be establishing a ‘center of excellence’ in respiratory at Discovery Park in Sandwich and believe this franchise will serve as an additional contributor to Mylan’s long-term growth.”