King Pharmaceuticals is paying Acura Pharmaceuticals $30 million up front for licensing rights to Acura's technology for preventing drug abuse. The North American pact will support King's work developing and commercializing four opioid analgesic pain products. Acura will get up to $28 million in milestones for each product developed and commercialized under the agreement, royalties and a $50 million cash payment for the first year in which the combined sales of the therapies exceed $750 million.
"Opioid analgesics play a very important role in the effective management of moderate to severe pain," says King CSO Dr. Eric Carter. "However, abuse and misuse of these medicines represents a major area of concern among physicians, pharmacists, patients, and the health- care sector. At King, we are committed to addressing this important public health issue and the needs of our customers by offering pain medicines that are proven effective and incorporate safe and appropriate means to discourage abuse and misuse."
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