Astellas US LLC, the wholly owned subsidiary of Astellas Pharma Inc., headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, has executed an agreement with QLT Inc., headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, to terminate the collaboration, licensing and supply agreement with regard to the anti-acne “Aczone” (generic name: dapsone), originally developed by QLT.
The agreement with regard to the co-development and exclusive marketing of Aczone for the treatment of acne vulgaris was signed between then-Fujisawa Healthcare, Inc., and then-Atrix Laboratories Inc. in October 2001. QLT made an NDA filing for Aczone in the summer of 2004. Astellas feels that, although FDA action on the product is imminent, the labelling suggested by the FDA may initially affect the market profile of the product. After re-evaluating the opportunity with the anticipated new market profile, Astellas and QLT have agreed that QLT will pursue commercialization of the product with its own organization.