SWEDISH FIRM TO COLLABORATE WITH GENENTECH

Swedish drugmaker BioInvent announced it has entered into a strategic collaboration with Genentech to develop and commercialize BioInvent's proprietary antibody candidate, BI-204, for the potential treatment of multiple cardiovascular conditions. Genentech will make an upfront payment of $15 million to BioInvent, and BioInvent could receive further milestone payments of up to $175 million as well as royalties on sales in North America.

Under the terms of the agreement, Genentech and BioInvent will be jointly responsible for clinical development. Genentech will be responsible for any commercialization of the drug in North America, while BioInvent will be responsible for commercialization in the rest of the world. Throughout development Genentech and BioInvent will share the development costs.

BI-204, which is in preclinical development, addresses a significant medical need, in particular for the prevention of cardiovascular events such as myocardial infarctions or strokes in patients at risk, according to BioInvent. Preclinical studies suggest that this treatment could reduce atherosclerotic plaque burden and thereby decrease the risk of a secondary cardiovascular event.