BMS offers up to $385M to develop atrial fibrillation drug

Bristol-Myers Squibb has forged a deal to pay two Japanese developers up to $385 million for the right to collaborate on a new, early-stage drug that is intended to help people who suffer from an irregular heart beat.

Nissan Chemical Industries and Teijin Pharma have granted BMS development and commercialization rights to NTC-801 in markets outside of Japan in exchange for $40 million up front, $170 million in development milestones and $175 million for sales-based goals. NTC-801 is a selective inhibitor of the acetylcholine-activated potassium ion channel, currently in Phase I development in Japan for maintaining normal sinus rhythm in patients with atrial fibrillation.

"There is significant unmet medical need for a more effective and safer therapy for atrial fibrillation," said Francis Cuss, Bristol-Myer's senior vice president of discovery and exploratory clinical research. "NTC-801 provides us with the opportunity to leverage our company's deep expertise in helping patients prevail over cardiovascular disease, and further strengthens and expands our pipeline in cardiovascular adjacencies."

- check out BMS's release

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