Sepracor Licenses Epilepsy Drug

Marlborough, MA-based Sepracor, maker of the insomnia drug Lunesta, announced today that it has signed an exclusive licensing deal with Bial covering development and commercialization of the Portuguese company’s anti-epileptic compound BIA 2-093 in Canada and the United States.

Under the terms of the agreement, Bial will receive $75 million up front and is eligible for up to $100 million in additional payments if it meets development and regulatory milestones. Sepracor is to handle the New Drug Application filing with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which it said in a press release should occur late this year or in early 2009. Presuming BIA 2-093 is approved by the FDA, Sepracor expects U.S. product launch by early 2010.

Author: Robert Buderi

Bob is Xconomy's founder and chairman. He is one of the country's foremost journalists covering business and technology. As a noted author and magazine editor, he is a sought-after commentator on innovation and global competitiveness. Before taking his most recent position as a research fellow in MIT's Center for International Studies, Bob served as Editor in Chief of MIT's Technology Review, then a 10-times-a-year publication with a circulation of 315,000. Bob led the magazine to numerous editorial and design awards and oversaw its expansion into three foreign editions, electronic newsletters, and highly successful conferences. As BusinessWeek's technology editor, he shared in the 1992 National Magazine Award for The Quality Imperative. Bob is the author of four books about technology and innovation. Naval Innovation for the 21st Century (2013) is a post-Cold War account of the Office of Naval Research. Guanxi (2006) focuses on Microsoft's Beijing research lab as a metaphor for global competitiveness. Engines of Tomorrow (2000) describes the evolution of corporate research. The Invention That Changed the World (1996) covered a secret lab at MIT during WWII. Bob served on the Council on Competitiveness-sponsored National Innovation Initiative and is an advisor to the Draper Prize Nominating Committee. He has been a regular guest of CNBC's Strategy Session and has spoken about innovation at many venues, including the Business Council, Amazon, eBay, Google, IBM, and Microsoft.