SurModics shares surge on $200M Roche pact

Shares of SurModics surged 21 percent this morning after the drug delivery company announced it had scored a $200 million licensing deal with Roche and Genentech. Genentech will use SurModics' microparticle delivery technology to develop a sustained drug delivery formulation of Lucentis as well as other opthalmology drugs.

SurModics gets $3.5 million upfront and up to $200 million in milestones and fees if the global developer is able to successfully advance several new eye drugs. The Eden Prairie, MN-based SurModics gets undisclosed royalties and Roche and Genentech have the right to gain manufacturing services.

"This agreement represents yet another major advancement toward realizing our strategic vision of developing technologies that address important clinical needs in the large and growing ophthalmology market," said Bruce Barclay, president and CEO of SurModics. "The agreement, which includes Lucentis and potentially other products, addresses a wide range of ophthalmic diseases and leverages our expertise and technology platforms in ophthalmology, employs our proprietary biodegradable microparticles drug delivery system from SurModics Pharmaceuticals, and will utilize our new world-class cGMP manufacturing facility in Birmingham, Alabama."

- check out the SurModics release [1]

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