Orexo, a pharmaceutical company focusing on developing treatments for pain and inflammation, has signed an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with a Novartis affiliate to develop and commercialise a novel product related to Orexo's OX17 programme.

Under the terms of the agreement, Novartis will fund all future development of the new product and will receive an exclusive license to all related intellectual property. Orexo will receive milestone payments upon major development achievements, and will be eligible for further milestone payments upon the attainment of certain sales targets. In addition, Orexo will receive royalties on future sales of the product. The agreement's financial terms were not disclosed.

Torbjörn Bjerke, president and CEO of Orexo, commented "Our development collaboration with Novartis, one of the finest healthcare companies in the world, has been outstanding and I am now very pleased to extend this to a full licensing agreement for the new product. This agreement is potentially an important step towards Orexo becoming a sustainable profitable pharmaceutical company. We are convinced that Novartis will make the new product a success."