Roche and fellow Swiss biotech firm Actelion will team up to develop and market S1P1, an autoimmune disorder drug. Actelion will receive an up-front payment of $75 million and could earn up to an additional $555 million in milestones as well as royalty payments. The drug will be developed to treat autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease and is currently in Phase I development. "This collaboration is a further step to strengthen our emerging autoimmune disease franchise," said Roche chairman and CEO, Franz B. Humer.
- see this press release