Milestone payments for Peptech's D2E7

Peptech has received its first milestone payment from its agreement with Abbott Laboratories to market the rheumatoid arthritis drug D2E7.

Abbott had requested D2E7 approval in the US and European markets, reaching the first of three milestones in its agreement with Peptech.

Abbott submitted a Biologic Licence Application to the US Food and Drug Administration and a Marketing Authorisation Application to the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products, this week.

Peptech's managing director, Stephen Kwik, said Abbott had forecast D2E7 peak sales of $US1 billion with sales expected to commence in 2003.

He said Peptech would receive two more milestone payments from Abbott, one upon approval of the drug from the MAA in Europe and the second upon its first commercial sale.

D2E7 is likely to receive approval in the European market first because Knoll is a German company and also because Europe does not have as abundant supply of rheumatoid arthritis drugs as the US.

"The value of each milestone payment cannot be revealed because of a confidentiality agreement with Knoll," Kwik said.

Currently, the only rheumatoid arthritis drugs on the market are manufactured by US-based companies, Johnson and Johnson and Immunnex. As a result, rheumatoid arthritis drugs sell more in the US than in Europe.

German-based Knoll holds a license for Peptech's TNF antibody patent and was acquired by Abbott in March, 2001.