OctoPlus Announces Exclusive License and Manufacturing Agreement for Locteron with Biolex

OctoPlus N.V. has announced that it has signed an exclusive license and product acquisition agreement to license its share of the commercial rights to its lead product Locteron® to co-development partner Biolex Therapeutics.

OctoPlus will remain a partner in the process development and manufacture of Locteron, but without having to make the investments for the upcoming late-stage clinical program. The proceeds of the agreement include among others upfront and milestone payments that amount to a total of US$ 149 million (€ 108 million) in the coming years, and royalties on future Locteron sales.

The upfront fee and short-term milestone payments comprise the first significant revenues that OctoPlus generates from the commercialization of its drug delivery technology PolyActive®. In addition to the cash payments under the agreement, OctoPlus will receive an equity stake in Biolex of up to 3.0%.

A co-development agreement for Locteron has been in place between OctoPlus and Biolex since 2005. Highly promising clinical trial results have been published during the collaboration so far and the product is now being evaluated in a US Phase IIa study.

Under the terms of the agreement, Biolex will be responsible for the overall development and commercialization of Locteron. OctoPlus will continue to perform process development and will manufacture Locteron, but will now be paid for these activities.

In summary, OctoPlus will receive:

• An upfront fee of US$ 11 million (€ 8.0 million)

• Milestone payments totaling US$ 138 million (€ 100 million)

• An equity stake in Biolex of up to 3.0%

• Royalties on net product sales. Moreover, OctoPlus retains commercial manufacturing rights to Locteron. The combined revenue from royalties and sale of manufactured product to Biolex will be equivalent to a low double-digit royalty.