Biogen Idec and Protein Design Labs, Inc. (PDL) have stepped into a broad collaboration for the joint development, manufacture and commercialization of three Phase II antibody products. The agreement provides for shared development and commercialization of daclizumab in multiple sclerosis and indications other than transplant and respiratory diseases, and for shared development and commercialization of M200 (volociximab) and HuZAF (fontolizumab) in all indications.

Under terms of the agreement, PDL will receive an upfront payment of $40 million, and Biogen Idec will purchase $100 million of common stock from PDL. If multiple products were developed successfully in multiple indications and all milestones were achieved, PDL could receive certain development and commercialization milestone payments totalling up to $660 million. Of these, $560 million are related to development and $100 million are related to commercialization of collaboration products, a release from Biogen said here.

Biogen Idec and PDL will share equally the costs of all development activities and all operating profits from each collaboration product within the United States and Europe. The companies will jointly oversee development, manufacturing and commercialization plans for collaboration products and intend to divide implementation responsibilities to leverage each company's capabilities and expertise. Each party will have co-promotion rights in the United States and Europe. Outside the United States and Europe, Biogen Idec will fund all incremental development and commercialization costs and pay a royalty to PDL on sales of collaboration products.

Daclizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that binds to the IL-2 receptor on activated T cells, inhibiting the binding of IL-2 and the cascade of pro-inflammatory events contributing to organ transplant rejection and autoimmune and related diseases.

Volociximab is a novel anti-angiogenic chimeric antibody directed against alpha5 beta1 integrin. Binding of the antibody to alpha5 beta1 integrin inhibits the formation of new blood vessels, a process necessary for tumour growth.

Fontolizumab is a humanized antibody that binds to interferon-gamma, an important immunoregulatory cytokine with multiple activities, including up-regulation of MHC Class II molecule expression. Blocking interferon-gamma may be useful in treating a variety of autoimmune diseases.