Date: Nov 20, 2013 Author: Ron Leuty Source: bizjournals (
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Ron Leuty
A step toward European approval of the blood cancer drug Imbruvica will net Pharmacyclics Inc. a $50 million payment from partner Johnson & Johnson.
The European Medicines Agency on Tuesday told Janssen-Cilag NV, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), that its application seeking approval of the drug is valid. That triggers the milestone payment to Sunnyvale-based Pharmacyclics (NASDAQ: PCYC).
The payment is on top of $60 million that Pharmacyclics, led by CEO Robert Duggan, earned from Janssen Biotech Inc. when the Food and Drug Administration last week approved Imbruvica for mantle cell lymphoma patients previously treated with other drugs.
The company received another $75 million from Janssen Biotech in September, when the FDA accepted Imbruvica's application.
