Unilife jumps on $15m Amgen injector deal

Unilife (NSDQ:UNIS) saw shares jump over 50% after signing a $15m deal with Amgen (NSDQ:AMGN) that positions the company to offer Amgen its wearable injector devices.

The  strategic partnership included a non-refundable $15 million deposit from Amgen, who will use Unilife’s wearable injector devices along with “certain large volume drug products”.

The deal also included a perpetual exclusive license for Unilife’s 1mL wearable injector for use with Amgen’s small volume drug products, according to the SEC filing.

Unilife will still develop most of the injectors, with Amgen footing the bill for each device manufactured for its use, according to the filing. If Unilife can’t keep up production, Amgen will be able to source the manufacturing elsewhere with a 10% royalty going to Unilife.

The deal included a caveat which will allow Amgen to source 20% of their annual volume elsewhere, with Unilife receiving the difference per unit between their price and the manufacturing and procurement cost.

Shares in York, Penn.-based Unilife surged today, rising 53.5% to 76¢ as of 12:26 p.m. EST.

The deal is good news for the company, who last October said it tapped chairman & CEO Alan Shortall for a loan so it could avoid defaulting on its $60 million debt with OrbiMed.

Unilife said it borrowed $600,000 from Shortall so it could maintain the $5 million cash balance required by the OrbiMed loan and still make a payment on the loan.

The investment fund also agreed to put up another $10 million in debt funding for Unilife, the company said.

Unilife, which slashed 17% from its workforce in September, said earlier that month that it’s exploring the proverbial “strategic alternatives.” In October, the company said it’s “received interest” from several parties.

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