King Pharmaceuticals, Pain Therapeutics partner to develop, market painkiller Remoxy

By E. Janene Geiss

Philadelphia, Nov. 10 - King Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Pain Therapeutics, Inc. said Thursday that they entered into a strategic alliance to develop and commercialize Remoxy and other abuse-resistant opioid painkillers.

Remoxy is a long-lasting oral oxycodone investigational drug in late-stage clinical development by Pain Therapeutics for the treatment of moderate to severe chronic pain.

Under the terms of the agreement, King will make an upfront payment of $150 million in cash to Pain Therapeutics, according to a company news release.

Pain Therapeutics also could receive additional milestone payments of up to $150 million in cash based on the successful clinical and regulatory development of Remoxy and other abuse-resistant opioid products, officials said.

This amount includes a $15 million cash payment upon acceptance of a regulatory filing for Remoxy and an additional $15 million upon its approval. King is responsible for all research and development expenses related to this alliance, which could total $100 million, officials said.

The alliance comes after King Pharmaceuticals completed an extensive screening process for late-stage development opportunities in the pain market, Brian Markison, King's president and chief executive officer, said in the release.

"We have strong capabilities in the neuroscience space and have focused our licensing efforts toward the unmet medical needs in today's evolving pain market. The technologies at Pain Therapeutics rose to the top of our list of the most attractive opportunities in this market," Markison said.

Pain Therapeutics said the alliance will build on both companies' strengths.

"King has enjoyed considerable success in commercializing neuroscience drugs, while our track record is in drug development. By pooling expertise, we aim to position abuse-resistant opioid painkillers, such as Remoxy, as a new class of drugs in the biopharmaceutical industry," Remi Barbier, president and chief executive officer of Pain Therapeutics, said in the release.

King is a Bristol, Tenn.-based pharmaceutical company with branded products focused on neuroscience drugs such as Skelaxin and Sonata.

Pain Therapeutics is a South San Francisco, Calif.-based biopharmaceutical company that develops novel drugs.

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