By Chelsey Dulaney
Retrophin Inc. on Wednesday said it agreed to sell a special
voucher meant to speed drug approval to French drug maker Sanofi SA
for $245 million in cash.
Shares of Retrophin, up 87% in the past year, added 7% to $28.70
in premarket trading.
Retrophin obtained the rare-pediatric-disease priority-review
voucher as part of a deal earlier this year to buy Cholbam from
Asklepion Pharmaceuticals LLC after the drug was approved by the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of a pair of
genetic metabolic disorders.
Sanofi will make an initial payment of $150 million, followed by
two payments of $47.5 million each in 2016 and 2017.
The voucher is part of an incentive program established by the
FDA to encourage development of drugs for rare pediatric diseases.
The voucher entitles the holder to ask the FDA for priority review
of a drug application that would otherwise get a standard review.
That could shorten the review process to six months from the
standard 10 months.
Last July, Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. agreed to
pay $67.5 million to buy BioMarin Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s pediatric
voucher, a move to help them speed their experimental cholesterol
drug to the market.
Write to Chelsey Dulaney at Chelsey.Dulaney@wsj.com
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