March 9 (Reuters) – GSK said on Monday it will receive up to $690 million from Italian pharmaceutical company Alfasigma for the worldwide rights to linerixibat, an experimental treatment for severe itching in patients with a rare liver disease.
The drug treats cholestatic pruritus, a relentless internal itch affecting patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), an autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system attacks bile ducts in the liver.
Alfasigma will pay GSK $300 million upfront plus another $100 million upon expected U.S. approval by March 24. It will pay $20 million when European and UK regulators approve the drug.
GSK is also eligible for up to $270 million in sales milestones and will earn tiered double-digit royalties on worldwide sales from Alfasigma, which already markets treatments for liver diseases across more than 100 countries.
(Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Janane Venkatraman)
