Valeant Pharmaceuticals International said Friday it received $125 million from a deal with GlaxoSmithKline PLC to develop an epilepsy drug.
Aliso Viejo-based Valeant received the money from the British company as part of a deal that includes retigabine, an epilepsy treatment that’s in late-stage development.
Valeant and GlaxoSmithKline plan to seek Food and Drug Administration approval and European marketing approval for retigabine by early 2009.
Valeant could receive up to $825 million in the deal.
If retigabine gets regulatory approval and goes to market, GlaxoSmithKline will pay Valeant $545 million.
Valeant also could receive up to $150 million for the development and sales of VRX698, another drug candidate.
The deal also calls for Valeant to receive half the net profit from retigabine sales in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and a 20% royalty on sales in other countries.
Valeant, which is restructuring, is counting on retigabine as part of a bid to reverse slowing growth. The drug maker got retigabine three years ago through a $280 million buy of San Diego-based Xcel Pharmaceuticals Inc.
