Amgen Collaborates With Unilife on Injectable Drug Delivery Systems

Unilife has granted Amgen exclusive rights to its wearable injectors within certain drug classes, under a collaboration announced last week.

Amgen also was granted nonexclusive rights to all proprietary Unilife delivery systems within oncology, inflammation, bone health, nephrology, cardiovascular and neuroscience.

In a note, Piper Jaffray analyst Charles Duncan says the program could focus on PCSK9-inhibitors, G-CSFs or IL-1 receptor antagonists.

Development programs will begin in 2016, the companies say.

Under the terms of the deal, Unilife can receive up to $75 million. Amgen paid a nonrefundable $20 million license fee and purchased a $30 million senior secured convertible note from Unilife. Amgen may purchase up to an additional $25 million in senior secured convertible notes over the next two years.

The payments are in addition to $15 million paid to Unilife by Amgen in connection with an exclusivity agreement reached on Dec. 31, 2015. The agreement also stated Unilife would get payments for each device manufactured based on the annual volume and device features, and that Amgen has a right to source and/or sublicense manufacturing of up to 20 percent of its total annual volume needs for the devices. — Jonathon Shacat