Vertex Sells Incivo Product Royalty Rights To Janssen Pharmaceutica For $152 Mln

(RTTNews) - Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) announced Wednesday that it has sold its product royalty rights relating to Incivo or telaprevir to Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V.

As per the deal, Janssen will make a $152 million cash payment to Vertex in the fourth quarter of 2013 and will cease paying royalties to Vertex on Incivo sales beginning in 2014.

As a result of the amendment to the companies' 2006 collaboration agreement to develop and commercialize Incivo in Europe and other regions, Janssen will have sole authority to execute Incivo marketing and promotion activities in these regions. Ongoing studies will be completed as planned, and the amended agreement accounts for this more streamlined collaboration.

Vertex stated that it also increased its 2013 year-end guidance for cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities to in excess of $1.4 billion.