JNJ to Commercialize Pozen Migraine Drug in South America

Pozen (NASDAQ:POZN) said Wednesday it has entered into a licensing deal with Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) for the development of its migraine treatment in South America.

In accordance with the deal, the drug, called MT 400, will be manufactured and commercialized in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru by JNJ's Cilag GmbH International.

Pozen previously licensed U.S.-only rights to MT 400 to GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK), which markets it in different doses as Treximet.

The companies said Cilag will make an initial upfront payment followed by a milestone payment upon the approval of the drug by the National Health Surveillance Agency of Brazil.

The agreement will expire on a country-to-country basis on the 15th anniversary of the first commercial sale in each region. During the first 10 years of years of sales, Cilag will pay Pozen a high-single-digit royalty on net sales, followed by a low-single-digit reality during the next five years.

No further financial details were disclosed.