Unilife & Amgen finalize $75m co-development deal

Unilife (NSDQ:UNIS) said today it finalized a $75 million collaborative deal with Amgen (NSDQ:AMGN) for injectable drug delivery systems, a deal the companies have been working out for the past month.

The deal includes licensing, investment, development and supply agreements and is centered around Unilife’s prefilled customizable wearable injectors, according to an SEC filing from the York, Penn.-based company.

“Unilife looks forward to a long-term strategic collaboration with Amgen to drive value for patients, prescribers and payers. Unilife is pleased to advance its leadership position in the wearable injectors market to meet growing demand for biologics and other medicines. Our prefilled, pre-assembled and ready-to-inject delivery systems are easy-to-use and enhance patient experience,” Unilife wearable injector biz senior veep Ian Hanson said in an SEC filing.

Through the deal, Amgen will receive exclusive rights to Unilife’s wearable injectors “within select drug classes” for use with Amgen’s own assets.

Amgen will also gain non-exclusive rights to all proprietary Unilife delivery systems within oncology, inflammation, bone health, nephrology, cardiovascular and neuroscience fields.

“We are pleased to enter this collaboration with Unilife. One important pillar of Amgen’s strategy is to invest in leading drug delivery technologies to more effectively meet the needs of patients suffering from serious illnesses. Unilife continues to develop technology that could provide patients with innovative and meaningful enhancements to drug administration,” Amgen process development senior veep Alison Moore said in a prepared statement.

With the deal, Unilife can receive up to $75 million, and has already received a nonrefundable $20 million license fee as well as Amgen purchasing a $30 million senior secured convertible note from Unilife. Amgen has the ability to purchase up to $25 million in additional senior secured convertible notes over the next 2 years.

Last week, the companies announced another extension as they explored the agreement to decide whether their deal for Unilife’s wearable injector technology will be exclusive to Amgen or not.

The extension makes the 3rd in the past month for the companies, as they gave themselves another week earlier in February to settle the deal. Two weeks prior, York, Pa.-based Unilife said the companies agreed to extend the deadline on the exclusivity negotiations from Jan. 31 to Feb. 5. Amgen is based in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

UNIS shares jumped last month after the companies revealed the initial deal, which called for a non-refundable $15 million deposit from Amgen, which will use Unilife’s wearable injector devices for some of its 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.

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