Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. has granted global license to Novartis AG to develop and market KRP-203, a new immunomodulator acting as sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor agonist (S1PRA), currently in pre-clinical development by Kyorin in Japan.

Under the terms of the agreement Kyorin grants Novartis an exclusive license to develop and commercialise KRP-203 worldwide in the therapeutic area of transplantation.

Novartis will also have an exclusive license to develop and commercialise KRP-203 worldwide, excluding Japan, the Republic of Korea, the People's Republic of China and Taiwan for autoimmune diseases and other diseases (excluding inflammatory bowel disease and related diseases).

Kyorin will receive from Novartis an up-front payment and additional milestone payments based upon the achievement of agreed clinical, regulatory and commercialisation targets.

Kyorin also procured certain negotiation rights regarding certain products of Novartis that are already available in the market or under development for co-commercialisation in Japan.