JAPAN'S ASTELLAS IN LICENSING DEAL FOR US XENOPORT'S PAINKILLER CANDIDATE DRUG

Astellas Pharma Inc said it has signed a licensing deal with XenoPort Inc of the US for XenoPort's painkiller candidate drug, XP13512. XenoPort will receive a payment of 25 mln usd from Astellas up front, and the US firm is eligible to receive up to 60 mln usd in clinical and regulatory milestone payments. The US company will also receive royalties of somewhere in the middle of the range of 10-20 pct percent on global sales of XP13512, Astellas said.

Forbes (http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2005/11/30/afx2362036.html)