Pfizer agrees Mylan generic deal

Generic manufacturer Mylan has agreed a $17.5 million deal with Pfizer for the exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and commercialise a portfolio of respiratory products.

As part of the deal, Mylan will have licensing rights to Pfizer’s generic equivalent to GSK’s Advair and Seretide.

Heather Bresch, Mylan President, says the agreement offers a “significant opportunity for our generics business”.

The agreement will also see Mylan retaining staff at Pfizer’s respiratory inhalation development team at Discovery Park in Sandwich, Kent. Other former Pfizer staff will be located in Cambridge.

Under the terms of the agreement Mylan will have rights to Pfizer’s dry powder inhaler (DPI) technology platform, as well as the opportunity to negotiate on existing compounds during different stages of their development in the Pharma giant’s pipeline.

Mylan will have to pay the costs for any remaining development and commercialisation for the transferred products. Additional payments will also be made once the deal is completed, depending on the regulatory and commercial success of the portfolio.

Advair Diskus and Seretide Diskus are inhaled fixed-dose combinations of Fluticasone Propionate and Salmeterol which are delivered via a DPI and used to treat asthma and COPD.

On completion of the deal, Mylan with gain the exclusive commercialisation rights for Seretide in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, as well as in the EU and European Free Trade Association countries. The two companies will have the co-promotion rights to the product in the rest of the world.