Seattle Genetics will receive a $6 million milestone payment from Takeda Pharmaceutical after the first commercial sales of Adcetris in Australia, South Korea, and Mexico.
Adcetris is approved in these countries as a treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory CD30-positive Hodgkin lymphoma and systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma. The drug is also commercially available in the US, EU, Japan, Canada, Ukraine, Switzerland, Singapore, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland.
Seattle Genetics and Takeda are developing Adcetris under a collaboration that gives Seattle Genetics US and Canadian commercialization rights and Takeda the right to sell the drug in the rest of the world.
"Seattle Genetics is entitled to royalties based on a percentage of Takeda’s net sales in its territory at rates that range from the mid-teens to the mid-twenties based on sales volume, subject to offsets for royalties paid by Takeda to third parties," the companies said. "In addition, Seattle Genetics is entitled to receive progress- and sales-dependent milestone payments based on net sales of Adcetris within Takeda’s licensed territories."
The development costs for Adcetris are shared evenly between the two companies, except in Japan, where Takeda is responsible for developing the drug.
CD30 is a hallmark of Hodgkin lymphoma and is expressed in other types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, including the systemic anaplastic large cell variety. Seattle Genetics said in a statement that it is evaluating Adcetris in other CD30-positive malignancies in more than 30 clinical trials.”