A New Vaccine for Nicotin Addiction

Cytos Biotechnology AG (SWX:CYTN) announced today that it has entered into an exclusive global commercial license agreement with Novartis (NYSE:NVS) to develop, manufacture and commercialize CYT002-NicQb, a therapeutic vaccine in phase II clinical development for the treatment of nicotine addiction.

Under the terms of the agreement, Novartis is granted world-wide exclusive rights for CYT002-NicQb and is responsible for late stage clinical development, manufacturing, and commercialization of the vaccine. In return, Cytos Biotechnology is eligible to receive up to CHF 600 million in upfront and potential development, regulatory approval and sales
milestone payments based on the successful development and commercialization of CYT002-NicQb. The upfront payment by Novartis will be CHF 35 million. In addition, Cytos Biotechnology will receive royalty payments on net sales of products. The agreement announced today is subject to customary regulatory approvals such as clearance under the
Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act.

"The vaccine market, including therapeutic vaccines, represents an increasingly attractive segment of the healthcare market and is an additional source of growth for large pharmaceutical companies. Licensing our phase II product candidate to Novartis, a top-tier healthcare company with strong inhouse vaccines' expertise, maximizes the opportunity to build CYT002-NicQb as a first-in-class product to treat nicotine addiction",
comments Dr Mark Dyer, EVP Business Development of Cytos Biotechnology. -Source: http://www.prnewswire.com