Roche and Aspreva update CellCept deal

Roche and Aspreva Pharmaceuticals have announced an update to the sales tracking process used as part of their agreement regarding CellCept (mycophenolate mofetil, MMF).

The aim of these changes are to more accurately track the use of Aspreva’s compound in transplant indications, while this modification has resulted in an adjustment to the royalty revenue agreement between the companies.

Consequently, the baseline for royalty revenue calculations in the 2007 financial year has been reset to CHF 63 million (26 million pounds), with this baseline subject to an annual price index adjustment by Aspreva and Roche.

Dr J William Freytag, chairman and chief executive officer of Aspreva Pharmaceuticals, said: “Since 2003, Aspreva and Roche have been collaborating to develop CellCept in autoimmune diseases.

“The agreements announced today demonstrate our continued commitment to this objective and underscore the ongoing benefits of our partnership for both organisations and patients around the world.”

He added that the changes announced this week are the fourth negotiated by the firms since the signing of the original deal, highlighting the common vision of Roche and Aspreva and the robust nature of their partnership.

In June 2007, Roche presented the preliminary results of a phase III clinical study comparing the administration of CellCept with intravenous cyclophosphamide (IVC) in patients with lupus nephritis.

The firm reported similar response rates, though the study did not meet its primary objective of showing the superiority of MMF to IVC in treatment induction.