Ophthotech Signs Marketing Deal For Eye Drug With Novartis; Shares Surge

(RTTNews) - Shares of Ophthotech Corp. (OPHT) surged 23 percent after the bio-pharmaceutical company said it has granted Novartis AG (NVS) the license to market its macular degeneration drug Fovista outside the US.

Ophthotech has granted Novartis exclusive rights to commercialize its lead product candidate, Fovista, in markets outside the US, while Ophthotech retains the US marketing rights.

Ophthotech said it could receive immediate payments of up to $330 million, including an upfront fee of $200 million and Fovista Phase 3 enrollment-based milestones of up to $130 million. Ophthotech said it could potentially get over $1 billion in upfront and milestone payments during the course of the collaboration, not including future royalties.

Fovista, a developmental stage drug, is being developed for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration. If approved, Fovista is expected to be first to market in this class of therapies for wet AMD.

Age-related macular degeneration is a disease characterized by progressive degenerative abnormalities in the macula of the eye, a small area in the central portion of the retina.

"As one of the largest ex-US partnering deals ever in the biotechnology industry, this collaboration with Novartis is potentially transformational for Ophthotech," stated David Guyer, CEO of Ophthotech.

OPHT closed Monday's trading at $31.46, up $0.38 or 1.22%, on the Nasdaq. The stock surged $7.54 or 23.97% in after-hours trade.

NVS closed Monday's trading at $89.52, down $0.36 or 0.40%, on the NYSE. The stock further slipped $0.01 or 0.01% in after-hours trade.