- Incyte (NASDAQ:INCY) and Eli Lilly (LLY) amend their 2009 License Agreement to enable Incyte to develop and commercialize Jakafi (ruxolitinib) for the treatment of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Incyte, in turn, has amended its Collaboration and License Agreement with Novartis (NVS) granting it exclusive rights to develop ruxolitinib for GVHD outside the U.S.
- Incyte will make an upfront payment of $35M to Lilly and undisclosed regulatory milestones. Novartis will make undisclosed development and regulatory milestones to Incyte as well pay royalties on commercial sales ex-U.S.
- GVHD is a condition in which donated bone marrow or stem cells view the recipient's body as foreign and attack it. If acute, it can be life-threatening.
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Jakafi is a JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor cleared in the U.S. for the treatment of a type of blood cancer called polycythemia vera and a bone marrow disorder called myelofibrosis.
- Lilly secured global rights to ruxolitinib from Incyte in December 2009 in a deal that included a $90M upfront payment and up to $665M in milestones.